Ecclesiastes 10:13

Ecclesiastes 10:13 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)The beginning of the words of his mouth is foolishness: and the end of his talk is mischievous madness.
• English Standard Version (ESV)The beginning of the words of his mouth is foolishness, and the end of his talk is evil madness.
• New King James Version (NKJV)The words of his mouth begin with foolishness, And the end of his talk is raving madness.
• New Living Translation (NLT)Fools base their thoughts on foolish assumptions, so their conclusions will be wicked madness;

Context of Ecclesiastes 10:13

11If a snake bites before it is charmed, the charmer receives no fee. 12Words from the mouth of the wise are gracious, but fools are consumed by their own lips. At the beginning their words are folly; at the end they are wicked madness— 14and fools multiply words. No one knows what is coming— who can tell someone else what will happen after them? 15The toil of fools wearies them; they do not know the way to town.

Ecclesiastes 10:13 word by word

תְּחִלַּ֥ת דִּבְרֵי־פִ֖יהוּ סִכְל֑וּת וְאַחֲרִ֣ית פִּ֔יהוּ הוֹלֵל֖וּת רָעָֽה׃Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• The beginningתְּחִלָּהtechillâh · beginningH8462
• of the wordsדָּבָרdâbâr · wordH1697
• of his mouthפֶּהpeh · lipH6310
• foolishnessסִכְלוּתsiklûth ώiklûth · follyH5531
• and the endאַחֲרִית'achărîyth · endH319
• of his talkפֶּהpeh · lip: wordH6310
• mischievousרַעra‛ râ‛âh · bad: evilH7451
• madnessהוֹלֵלוּתhôlêlûth · madnessH1948

Cross-references for Ecclesiastes 10:13

• Judges 14:15On the fourth day, they said to Samson’s wife, “Coax your husband into explaining the riddle for us, or we will burn you and your father’s household to death. Did you invite us here to steal our property?”
• 1 Samuel 20:26Saul said nothing that day, for he thought, “Something must have happened to David to make him ceremonially unclean—surely he is unclean.”
• 1 Samuel 22:7He said to them, “Listen, men of Benjamin! Will the son of Jesse give all of you fields and vineyards? Will he make all of you commanders of thousands and commanders of hundreds?
• 1 Samuel 25:10Nabal answered David’s servants, “Who is this David? Who is this son of Jesse? Many servants are breaking away from their masters these days.
• 2 Samuel 19:41Soon all the men of Israel were coming to the king and saying to him, “Why did our brothers, the men of Judah, steal the king away and bring him and his household across the Jordan, together with all his men?”
• 2 Samuel 20:1Now a troublemaker named Sheba son of Bikri, a Benjamite, happened to be there. He sounded the trumpet and shouted, “We have no share in David, no part in Jesse’s son! Every man to his tent, Israel!”
• 2 Kings 6:27The king replied, “If the Lord does not help you, where can I get help for you? From the threshing floor? From the winepress?”
• Proverbs 29:9If a wise person goes to court with a fool, the fool rages and scoffs, and there is no peace.
• Matthew 2:7Then Herod called the Magi secretly and found out from them the exact time the star had appeared.
• Luke 6:2Some of the Pharisees asked, “Why are you doing what is unlawful on the Sabbath?”
• Luke 11:38But the Pharisee was surprised when he noticed that Jesus did not first wash before the meal.
• John 12:10So the chief priests made plans to kill Lazarus as well,
• Acts 5:28“We gave you strict orders not to teach in this name,” he said. “Yet you have filled Jerusalem with your teaching and are determined to make us guilty of this man’s blood.”
• Acts 6:9Opposition arose, however, from members of the Synagogue of the Freedmen (as it was called)—Jews of Cyrene and Alexandria as well as the provinces of Cilicia and Asia—who began to argue with Stephen.
• Acts 7:54When the members of the Sanhedrin heard this, they were furious and gnashed their teeth at him.
• Acts 19:24A silversmith named Demetrius, who made silver shrines of Artemis, brought in a lot of business for the craftsmen there.

Commentaries on Ecclesiastes 10:13

• 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
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 1313. Illustrating the folly and injuriousness of the fool's words; last clause of Ec 10:12.Read the comment

Topics related to Ecclesiastes 10:13

• Fool
• Slander
• Speaking
• Words

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