11 If a snake bites before it is charmed, the charmer receives no fee.
12 Words from the mouth of the wise are gracious, but fools are consumed by their own lips. 13 At the beginning their words are folly; at the end they are wicked madness- 14 and fools multiply words. No one knows what is coming- who can tell someone else what will happen after them? 15 The toil of fools wearies them; they do not know the way to town.
11 Surely the serpent will bite without enchantment; and a babbler
12 The words of a wise man's mouth are gracious;
11 If the serpent bites before it is charmed, there is no advantage to the charmer.
12 The words of a wise man's mouth win him favor,
11 If the snake bites before it's been charmed, What's the point in then sending for the charmer?
12 The words of a wise person are gracious. The talk of a fool self-destructs - 13 He starts out talking nonsense And ends up spouting insanity and evil. 14 Fools talk way too much, Chattering stuff they know nothing about. 15 A decent day's work so fatigues fools That they can't find their way back to town.
11 A serpent may bite when it is not charmed; The babbler is no different.
12 The words of a wise man's mouth are gracious, But the lips of a fool shall swallow him up; 13 The words of his mouth begin with foolishness, And the end of his talk is raving madness. 14 A fool also multiplies words. No man knows what is to be; Who can tell him what will be after him? 15 The labor of fools wearies them, For they do not even know how to go to the city!
11 If a snake bites before you charm it, what's the use of being a snake charmer?
12 Wise words bring approval, but fools are destroyed by their own words. 13 Fools base their thoughts on foolish assumptions, so their conclusions will be wicked madness; 14 they chatter on and on. No one really knows what is going to happen; no one can predict the future. 15 Fools are so exhausted by a little work that they can't even find their way home.
Matthew Henry's Commentary on Ecclesiastes 10:11-15
Commentary on Ecclesiastes 10:11-15
(Read Ecclesiastes 10:11-15)
There is a practice in the East, of charming serpents by music. The babbler's tongue is an unruly evil, full of deadly poison; and contradiction only makes it the more violent. We must find the way to keep him gentle. But by rash, unprincipled, or slanderous talk, he brings open or secret vengeance upon himself. Would we duly consider our own ignorance as to future events, it would cut off many idle words which we foolishly multiply. Fools toil a great deal to no purpose. They do not understand the plainest things, such as the entrance into a great city. But it is the excellency of the way to the heavenly city, that it is a high-way, in which the simplest wayfaring men shall not err, Isaiah 25:8. But sinful folly makes men miss that only way to happiness.