English Standard Version
Ecclesiastes 10:11
11If the serpent bites before it is charmed, there is no advantage to the charmer.
Ecclesiastes 10:11 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)Surely the serpent will bite without enchantment; and a babbler is no better.
- New International Version (NIV)If a snake bites before it is charmed, the charmer receives no fee.
- New King James Version (NKJV)A serpent may bite when it is not charmed; The babbler is no different.
- New Living Translation (NLT)If a snake bites before you charm it, what’s the use of being a snake charmer?
Context of Ecclesiastes 10:11
9He who quarries stones is hurt by them, and he who splits logs is endangered by them. 10If the iron is blunt, and one does not sharpen the edge, he must use more strength, but wisdom helps one to succeed. If the serpent bites before it is charmed, there is no advantage to the charmer. 12The words of a wise man's mouth win him favor, but the lips of a fool consume him. 13The beginning of the words of his mouth is foolishness, and the end of his talk is evil madness.
Read all of Ecclesiastes 10Ecclesiastes 10:11 word by word
אִם־יִשֹּׁ֥ךְ הַנָּחָ֖שׁ בְּלוֹא־לָ֑חַשׁ וְאֵ֣ין יִתְר֔וֹן לְבַ֖עַל הַלָּשֽׁוֹן׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
Cross-references for Ecclesiastes 10:11
- Psalms 58:4They have venom like the venom of a serpent, like the deaf adder that stops its ear,
- Jeremiah 8:17For behold, I am sending among you serpents, adders that cannot be charmed, and they shall bite you," declares the Lord.
- Psalms 52:2Your tongue plots destruction, like a sharp razor, you worker of deceit.
- Psalms 64:3who whet their tongues like swords, who aim bitter words like arrows,
- Proverbs 18:21Death and life are in the power of the tongue, and those who love it will eat its fruits.
- James 3:6And the tongue is a fire, a world of unrighteousness. The tongue is set among our members, staining the whole body, setting on fire the entire course of life, and set on fire by hell.
Commentaries on Ecclesiastes 10:11
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 11The serpent will bite without enchantment - לחש בלא belo lachash, without hissing. As a snake may bite before it hiss, so also will the babbler, talkative person, or calumniator. Without directly speaking evil, he insinuates, by innuendoes, things injurious to the reputation of his neighbor. Gif the eddir bite in silence, noyhing lasse than he hath that privily backbiteth - Old MS. Bible. "A babbler of his tongue is no better than a serpent that styngeth…Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 11Rather: “If a serpent without enchantment (i. e., not being enchanted) bites, then there is no advantage to the charmer”: i. e., if the charmer is unwisely slack in exercising his craft, he will be bitten like other people. See Psalm 58:4 note.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. 11One reason to charm a snake is to prevent it from biting, but a snake charmer risks a bite before charming it. Some jobs are so dangerous that smart people avoid them completely.Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 1111. A "serpent will bite" if "enchantment" is not used; "and a babbling calumniator is no better." Therefore, as one may escape a serpent by charms (Psa 58:4, 5), so one may escape the sting of a calumniator by discretion (Ec 10:12), [Holden]. Thus, "without enchantment" answers to "not whet the edge" (Ec 10:10), both expressing, figuratively, want of judgment. Maurer translates, "There is no gain to the enchanter" (Margin, "master of the tongue") from…Read the comment
Topics related to Ecclesiastes 10:11
In the dictionaries
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
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Commentaries