New King James Version
Ecclesiastes 10:15
15The labor of fools wearies them, For they do not even know how to go to the city!
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 Living Translation (NLT)Fools are so exhausted by a little work that they can’t even find their way home.
Context of Ecclesiastes 10:15
13The words of his mouth begin with foolishness, And the end of his talk is raving madness. 14A fool also multiplies words. No man knows what is to be; Who can tell him what will be after him? The labor of fools wearies them, For they do not even know how to go to the city! 16Woe to you, O land, when your king is a child, And your princes feast in the morning! 17Blessed are you, O land, when your king is the son of nobles, And your princes feast at the proper time— For strength and not for drunkenness!
Read all of Ecclesiastes 10Ecclesiastes 10:15 word by word
עֲמַ֥ל הַכְּסִילִ֖ים תְּיַגְּעֶ֑נּוּ אֲשֶׁ֥ר לֹֽא־יָדַ֖ע לָלֶ֥כֶת אֶל־עִֽיר׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
Cross-references for Ecclesiastes 10:15
- Ecclesiastes 10:3Even when a fool walks along the way, He lacks wisdom, And he shows everyone that he is a fool.
- Isaiah 44:12The blacksmith with the tongs works one in the coals, Fashions it with hammers, And works it with the strength of his arms. Even so, he is hungry, and his strength fails; He drinks no water and is faint.
- Isaiah 47:12“Stand now with your enchantments And the multitude of your sorceries, In which you have labored from your youth— Perhaps you will be able to profit, Perhaps you will prevail.
- Isaiah 55:2Why do you spend money for what is not bread, And your wages for what does not satisfy? Listen carefully to Me, and eat what is good, And let your soul delight itself in abundance.
- Isaiah 57:1The righteous perishes, And no man takes it to heart; Merciful men are taken away, While no one considers That the righteous is taken away from evil.
- Habakkuk 2:6“Will not all these take up a proverb against him, And a taunting riddle against him, and say, ‘Woe to him who increases What is not his—how long? And to him who loads himself with many pledges’?
- Matthew 11:28Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.
- Psalms 107:4They wandered in the wilderness in a desolate way; They found no city to dwell in.
- Isaiah 35:8A highway shall be there, and a road, And it shall be called the Highway of Holiness. The unclean shall not pass over it, But it shall be for others. Whoever walks the road, although a fool, Shall not go astray.
- Jeremiah 50:4“In those days and in that time,” says the Lord, “The children of Israel shall come, They and the children of Judah together; With continual weeping they shall come, And seek the Lord 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
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
New King James Version — © 1982 Thomas Nelson, Inc
Commentaries