Ecclesiastes 10:15

Ecclesiastes 10:15 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)The labour of the foolish wearieth every one of them, because he knoweth not how to go to the city.
• New International Version (NIV)The toil of fools wearies them; they do not know the way to town.
• English Standard Version (ESV)The toil of a fool wearies him, for he does not know the way to the city.
• New King James Version (NKJV)The labor of fools wearies them, For they do not even know how to go to the city!

Context of Ecclesiastes 10:15

13The beginning of the words of his mouth is folly; and the end of his talk is mischievous madness. 14And the fool multiplieth words: [yet] man knoweth not what shall be; and what shall be after him, who will tell him? The labour of fools wearieth them, because they know not how to go to the city. 16Woe to thee, O land, when thy king is a child, and thy princes eat in the morning! 17Happy art thou, O land, when thy king is a son of nobles, and thy princes eat in [due] season, for strength, and not for drunkenness!

Ecclesiastes 10:15 word by word

עֲמַ֥ל הַכְּסִילִ֖ים תְּיַגְּעֶ֑נּוּ אֲשֶׁ֥ר לֹֽא־יָדַ֖ע לָלֶ֥כֶת אֶל־עִֽיר׃Read the interlinear

• foolsכְּסִילkesîyl · foolH3684
• knowיָדַעyâda‛ · to knowH3045
• cityעִיר‛îyr ‛âr ‛âyar · cityH5892

Cross-references for Ecclesiastes 10:15

• Ecclesiastes 10:3Yea also, when he that is a fool walketh by the way, his sense faileth [him], and he saith to every one [that] he is a fool.
• Isaiah 44:12The iron-smith [hath] a chisel, and he worketh in the coals, and he fashioneth it with hammers, and worketh it with his strong arm; — but he is hungry, and his strength faileth; he hath not drunk water, and he is faint.
• Isaiah 47:12Stand now with thine enchantments and with the multitude of thy sorceries, wherein thou hast laboured from thy youth; if so be thou shalt be able to turn them to profit, if so be thou mayest cause terror.
• Isaiah 55:2Wherefore do ye spend money for [that which is] not bread? and your labour for that which satisfieth not? Hearken diligently unto me, and eat ye [that which is] good, and let your soul delight itself in fatness.
• Isaiah 57:1The righteous perisheth, and no man layeth it to heart; and merciful men are taken away, none considering that the righteous is taken away from before the evil.
• Habakkuk 2:6Shall not all these take up a proverb about him, and a taunting riddle against him, and say, Woe to him that increaseth that which is not his! how long? — and to him that loadeth himself with pledges!
• Matthew 11:28Come to me, all ye who labour and are burdened, and I will give you rest.
• Psalms 107:4They wandered in the wilderness in a desert way, they found no city of habitation;
• Isaiah 35:8And a highway shall be there and a way, and it shall be called, The way of holiness: the unclean shall not pass through it; but it shall be for these. Those that go [this] way — even fools, — shall not err [therein].
• Jeremiah 50:4In those days, and at that time, saith Jehovah, the children of Israel shall come, they and the children of Judah together, going and weeping as they go, and shall seek Jehovah their God.

Commentaries on Ecclesiastes 10:15

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 15He knoweth not how to go to the city - I suppose this to be a proverb: "He knows nothing; he does not know his way to the next village." He may labor; but for want of judgment he wearies himself to no purpose.Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 15The sense is: “The fool wearies himself with ineffectual attempts, he has not sufficient knowledge for the transaction of ordinary business.”Read the comment
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 11-15Verses 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…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 15People who rarely work get tired quickly when they try to do it.Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 1515. labour ... wearieth--(Is 55:2; Ha 2:13). knoweth not how to go to the city--proverb for ignorance of the most ordinary matters (Ec 10:3); spiritually, the heavenly city (Psa 107:7; Mt 7:13, 14). Maurer connects Ec 10:15 with the following verses. The labor (vexation) caused by the foolish (injurious princes, Ec 10:4-7) harasses him who "knows not how to go to the city," to ingratiate himself with them there. English Version is simpler.Read the comment

Topics related to Ecclesiastes 10:15

• Fool

In the dictionaries

• Direct
• Idleness
• Prince
• Synagogue, the Great

Commentaries on Ecclesiastes 10

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
• Tyndale Open Study Notes
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
• Rashi on Tanakh
• Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
• John Wesley’s Notes
• Darby Translation Notes
• Geneva Bible Translation Notes
• Kingcomments
• Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
• Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
• Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
• EGW Writings