Reflections on Ecclesiastes 10

 Ecclesiastes 10 (Contemporary English Version)

1. A few dead flies in perfume make all of it stink, and a little foolishness outweighs a lot of wisdom.
   
2. Sensible thoughts lead you to do right; foolish thoughts lead you to do wrong.
   
3. Fools show their stupidity by the way they live; it's easy to see they have no sense.
   
4. Don't give up your job when your boss gets angry. If you stay calm, you'll be forgiven.
   
5. Some things rulers do are terribly unfair:
   
6. They honor fools, but dishonor the rich;
   
7. they let slaves ride on horses, but force slave owners to walk.
   
8. If you dig a pit, you might fall in; if you break down a wall, a snake might bite you.
   
9. You could even get hurt by chiseling a stone or chopping a log.
   
10. If you don't sharpen your ax, it will be harder to use; if you are smart, you'll know what to do.
    
11. The power to charm a snake does you no good if it bites you anyway.
    
12. If you talk sensibly, you will have friends; if you talk foolishly, you will destroy yourself.
    
13. Fools begin with nonsense, and their stupid chatter ends with disaster.
    
14. They never tire of talking, but none of us really know what the future will bring.
    
15. Fools wear themselves out-- they don't know enough to find their way home.
    
16. A country is in for trouble when its ruler is childish, and its leaders party all day long.
    
17. But a nation will prosper when its ruler is mature, and its leaders don't party too much.
    
18. Some people are too lazy to fix a leaky roof-- then the house falls in.
    
19. Eating and drinking make you feel happy, and bribes can buy everything you need.
    
20. Don't even think about cursing the king; don't curse the rich, not even in secret. A little bird might hear and tell everything.

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Continuing from 9:18, Solomon makes the point that as important as wisdom is, it only takes a little folly to nullify it, just as one dead fly in expensive perfume will cause it to stink. Besides folly, wisdom can be nullified by a capricious ruler who acts out of anger or on a whim. However, even in the face of a ruler's capricious actions a wise man may still prevail. Though the fool may react to the ruler's anger by leaving his post, the wise man will remain at his post and through his calmness may put the ruler's anger to rest. Besides his anger, the capricious ruler may nullify wisdom by unthinkingly reversing roles. For instance appointing a fool "to great heights," while "the rich remain in lowly positions." Or by placing "slaves on horses," while princes walk like slaves. In such an environment the wise may be set aside while fools are elevated.

A further way in which wisdom may be nullified is by improper timing or acting without thinking. For instance one digs a pit or breaks through a wall without anticipating possible dangers and needed precautions. So the one falls in the pit he dug and the other is bitten by a snake hidden in the wall. So it is also for one who quarries stones or who splits trees. There is potential danger with either if precautions are not taken. Wisdom is nullified if it is not exercised. Though wise in some areas, a person may act without thinking in another area or at another time.

Following the section on ways wisdom can be nullified, Solomon begins to discuss the foolishness of unguarded words. The fool, he says, is prone to make himself known through his words. The lips of a fool consume him," he says. From the time he opens his mouth until he closes it again he speaks only folly and madness. But rather than minimizing his words he multiplies them making his foolishness even more apparent. He speaks things he knows nothing about for how can he know the future? Such a person doesn't even know how to find his way to the city, or as we might say, "he doesn't know enough to get in out of the rain."

Concluding the chapter Solomon moves on to discuss unwise leaders. A country is unfortunate, he says, to have leaders who lack experience and who are more concerned with the luxuries of their position than with the responsibilities. They feast and drink wine, not for strength, but for drunkenness. They neglect responsibilities allowing the roof to cave in and the house to leak, speaking metaphorically. To them, money is the answer to everything. But Solomon cautions against criticizing such leaders, even though they may be well deserving of criticism. For you don't know when you might be overheard and reported to the ruler.