Ecclesiastes 10:14 BSB

Ecclesiastes 10:14

Yet the fool multiplies words. No one knows what is coming, and who can tell him what will come after him?

BSB

Parallel translations (2) ▾

ASV

A fool also multiplieth words: yet man knoweth not what shall be; and that which shall be after him, who can tell him?

KJV

A fool also is full of words: a man cannot tell what shall be; and what shall be after him, who can tell him?

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Commentary

4 voices

Jerome

Commentary on Ecclesiastes (420)

"His talk begins as foolishness and ends as evil madness. The fool prates on and on, but man does not know what will be; and who can tell him what will be after him? "So far the discussion has been about the fool, whose lips teach the wise man, or according to another interpretation, his lips make himself corrupt. The beginning and the end of his speech are foolishness and evil madness; or as Symmachus has translated it, confusion, or some kind of inconsistency of words.

The record, by era

The Medieval Church1 voice

Bonaventure

Commentary on Ecclesiastes, Chapter 10 (1257)

Furthermore, he perseveres in folly: therefore he adds: The fool multiplies words, thus by multiplying foolish words he becomes obstinate in malice: against which in the Psalm: "Incline not my heart to words of malice" etc.; and this is useless and vain, whence it is …

The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices

John Gill

1697–1771

Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763)

A fool also is full of words,.... Or, "multiplies words" (y).

Matthew Henry

1662–1714

Commentary on the Whole Bible (1710)

He will have the last word, though it be but the same with that which was the first. What is wanting in the weight and strength of his words he endeavours in vain to make up in the number of them; and they must be repeated, because otherwise there is nothing in them to make them regarded.

Voices on this verse

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Original language & word study

14 tagged words

Original	Transliteration	Meaning	Word study
וְהַסָּכָ֖ל	ve.ha.sa.Khal	and the fool	H5530 →
יַרְבֶּ֣ה	yar.Beh	he multiplies	H7235 →
דְבָרִ֑ים	de.va.Rim	words	H1697 →
לֹא־	lo'-	not	H3808 →
יֵדַ֤ע	ye.Da'	he knows	H3045 →
הָאָדָם֙	ha.'a.Dam	the person	H120 →
מַה־	mah-	what?	H4100 →
שֶׁיִּֽהְיֶ֔ה	shei.yih.Yeh	that <it> will be	H1961 →
וַאֲשֶׁ֤ר	va.'a.Sher	and which	H834 →
יִֽהְיֶה֙	yih.Yeh	it will be	H1961 →
מֵֽאַחֲרָ֔יו	me.'a.cha.Rav	from after him	H310 →
מִ֖י	mi	who?	H4310 →
יַגִּ֥יד	ya.Gid	will he tell	H5046 →
לֽוֹ׃	lo	to <the> him

Rare words are the text's own signal of a deliberate thread: the fewer the occurrences, the more the places it appears belong together.

The walk

The walk8

Where the connections lead

Follow this verse’s cross-references two steps out. Each card is a verse this one points to, and beneath it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several different paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it. Every stop shows its own words, and every stop is a page.

Through
Ecclesiastes 5:3
As a dream comes through many cares, so the speech of a fool comes with many words.
leads to
- Proverbs 15:2
  The tongue of the wise commends knowledge, but the mouth of the fool spouts folly.
Through
Ecclesiastes 3:22
I have seen that there is nothing better for a man than to enjoy his work, because that is his lot. For who can bring him to see what will come after him?
leads to
- Ecclesiastes 6:12
  For who knows what is good for a man during the few days in which he passes through his fleeting life like a shadow? Who can tell a man what will come after him…
  Reached by 2 independent paths from here.
- Ecclesiastes 2:24
  Nothing is better for a man than to eat and drink and enjoy his work. I have also seen that this is from the hand of God.
Through
Ecclesiastes 6:12
For who knows what is good for a man during the few days in which he passes through his fleeting life like a shadow? Who can tell a man what will come after him…
leads to
- James 4:14
  You do not even know what will happen tomorrow! What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes.
- Job 14:2
  Like a flower, he comes forth, then withers away; like a fleeting shadow, he does not endure.
- Ecclesiastes 3:22
  I have seen that there is nothing better for a man than to enjoy his work, because that is his lot. For who can bring him to see what will come after him?
Through
Proverbs 15:2
The tongue of the wise commends knowledge, but the mouth of the fool spouts folly.
leads to
- Proverbs 12:23
  A shrewd man keeps his knowledge to himself, but a foolish heart proclaims its folly.
- Proverbs 15:28
  The heart of the righteous ponders how to answer, but the mouth of the wicked blurts out evil.

About Ecclesiastes

King Solomon in Old Age — Gustave Doré, Doré's English Bible (1866), public domain

Ecclesiastes: the study guide →Read chapter 10 →The featured study →

Continue: Ecclesiastes 10 →

01Commentary

The record, by era

Voices on this verse

02Original language & word study

03The walk

Where the connections lead

04Related verses

06About Ecclesiastes

The record, by era

Where the connections lead

Commentary

Original language & word study

The walk

Related verses

About Ecclesiastes