Ecclesiastes 10:2
in Ecclesiastes 10A wise man’s heart inclines to the right, but the heart of a fool to the left.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
A wise man’s heart is at his right hand; but a fool’s heart at his left.
KJV
A wise man’s heart is at his right hand; but a fool’s heart at his left.
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This verse in Ecclesiastes 10
Commentary
11 notes on this verse"A wise man's mind tends to his right; while a fool's mind tends to his left. Even on the road as the fool walks, he lacks sense, and proclaims to all that he is a fool. "And in the Gospel it is taught that a wise man's left does not know what his right is doing. And when we are hit on the right side of the face, we do not show the left cheek to he who hit us, but the other one.
This site's exposition
As dead flies bring a stench
on Ecclesiastes 10:1-3
As dead flies bring a stench to the perfumer’s oil, so a little folly outweighs wisdom and honor, the chapter's rule of disproportion. The right and left of verse 2 are readiness against awkwardness, in the older commentators' reading of the idiom. Verse 3 shows the fool advertising himself.
This site's exposition
inclines to the right
The right hand was the skilled and ready hand, so Barnes reads the wise man's sense as present when needed and the fool's as missing. Clarke adds that right and left stand in Scripture for good and evil. Bonaventure linked it to the sheep of Matthew 25.
The record, by era
The Medieval Church2 voices
A commentator
BonaventureCommentary on Ecclesiastes, Chapter 10 · Written in the 13th century.
proposed
The heart of the wise man is at his right hand, and the heart of the fool at his left; by the right hand good things are understood, by the left hand evil things: Matthew 25: "He shall set the sheep on his right hand, …
A commentator
BonaventureCollations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 19 · Written in the 13th century.
proposed
The fourth aspect of the zeal of wisdom is the elevation of desire. This gives worth to other endeavors, so that forgetting what is behind, we strain forward to what is before. "The wise man has eyes in his head. — The heart of a …
The Puritans and the Awakening3 voices
How apt fools are at every turn to proclaim their own folly, and expose themselves; he that is either witless or graceless, either silly or wicked, if he be ever so little from under the check, and left to himself, if he but walk by the way, soon shows what he is; his wisdom fails him, and, by some impropriety or other, he says to every one he meets that he is a fool (
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — unbalanced-parens
Heart - His understanding is always present with him and ready to direct him. He mentions the right hand, because that is the common instrument of action. A fool's - His understanding is not effectual to govern his affections and actions.
A wise man's heart is at his right hand,....
3 more voices on this verse
The Nineteenth Century3 voices
A wise man’s heart is at his right hand - As the right hand is ordinarily the best exercised, strongest, and most ready, and the left the contrary, they show, 1. The command which the wise man has over his own mind, feelings, passions, etc., and the prudence with which he acts. And, 2. The want of prudence and management in the fool, who has no restraint on his passions, and no rule or guard upon his tongue. The right hand and the left are used in Scripture to express good and evil.
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
(Ec 2:14). right--The right hand is more expert than the left. The godly wise is more on his guard than the foolish sinner, though at times he slip. Better a diamond with a flaw, than a pebble without one.
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
The metaphor perhaps means “A wise man’s sense is in its place, ready to help and protect him; but a fool’s sense is missing when it is wanted, and so is useless.”
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
On the verses either side of this one
Chapter 10 targum. And the yetzer hara (evil inclination ) which dwells at the gates of the heart is like a fly and causes death in the world because it betrays the wise when he sins and wounds the good name which had resembled anointing oil scented by perfumes, and how much more beautiful and precious than the wisdom of the wise and the wealth of the wealthy is a man whose folly is little and light.
This section is reception history: how the passage was read and kept in the Jewish tradition. Where a reading parts from an essential of the Christian faith, the section says so at that point.
Texts and citation data: Sefaria; each excerpt follows its version’s licence. 3 further sources are cited on this chapter that carry no English text this site may quote or only restate the verse.
The words behind it
6 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| לֵ֤ב | lev | [the] heart of | H3820 → | 595 times |
| חָכָם֙ | chakham | a wise [person] | H2450 → | 138 times |
| לִֽימִינ֔וֹ | limino | [is] to right [hand] his | H3225 → | |
| וְלֵ֥ב | velev | and [the] heart of | H3820 → | 595 times |
| כְּסִ֖יל | kesil | a fool | H3684 → | 70 times |
| לִשְׂמֹאלֽוֹ׃ | lismolo | [is] to left [hand] his | H8040 → |
לֵ֤ב[the] heart of
levH3820 →595 times
חָכָם֙a wise [person]
chakhamH2450 →138 times
לִֽימִינ֔וֹ[is] to right [hand] his
liminoH3225 →
וְלֵ֥בand [the] heart of
velevH3820 →595 times
כְּסִ֖ילa fool
kesilH3684 →70 times
לִשְׂמֹאלֽוֹ׃[is] to left [hand] his
lismoloH8040 →
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Proverbs 14:8The wisdom of the prudent is to discern his way, but the folly of fools deceives them.
it leads to
- Ephesians 5:17
Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the Lord’s will is.
- 2 Timothy 3:13
while evil men and imposters go from bad to worse, deceiving and being deceived.
- Colossians 1:9–10
For this reason, since the day we heard about you, we have not stopped praying for you and asking God to fill you with the knowledge of His will in all spiritual wisdom and…
- Ephesians 5:17
Through
Ecclesiastes 10:10If the axe is dull and the blade unsharpened, more strength must be exerted, but skill produces success.
it leads to
- James 1:5
Now if any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him.
- Colossians 4:5
Act wisely toward outsiders, redeeming the time.
- Ecclesiastes 10:15
The toil of a fool wearies him, for he does not know the way to the city.
- 1 Corinthians 14:20
Brothers, stop thinking like children. In regard to evil be infants, but in your thinking be mature.
- James 1:5
Through
Ecclesiastes 10:14Yet the fool multiplies words. No one knows what is coming, and who can tell him what will come after him?
it leads to
- Proverbs 15:2
The tongue of the wise commends knowledge, but the mouth of the fool spouts folly.
- Proverbs 15:2
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies1
About Ecclesiastes
This page draws on 10 works. Open the list of works
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Bonaventure, Commentary on Ecclesiastes, Chapter 10; Bonaventure, Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 19; Charles Bridges, An Exposition of the Book of Ecclesiastes; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; Jerome, Commentary on Ecclesiastes; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.