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Texts -- Ecclesiastes 10:11-20 (NET)

Context
10:11 If the snake should bite before it is charmed , the snake charmer is in trouble .
Words and Works of Wise Men and Fools
10:12 The words of a wise person win him favor , but the words of a fool are self-destructive . 10:13 At the beginning his words are foolish and at the end his talk is wicked madness , 10:14 yet a fool keeps on babbling . No one knows what will happen ; who can tell him what will happen in the future ? 10:15 The toil of a stupid fool wears him out, because he does not even know the way to the city .
The Problem with Foolish Rulers
10:16 Woe to you, O land , when your king is childish , and your princes feast in the morning ! 10:17 Blessed are you, O land , when your king is the son of nobility , and your princes feast at the proper time – with self-control and not in drunkenness . 10:18 Because of laziness the roof caves in , and because of idle hands the house leaks . 10:19 Feasts are made for laughter , and wine makes life merry, but money is the answer for everything . 10:20 Do not curse a king even in your thoughts , and do not curse the rich while in your bedroom ; for a bird might report what you are thinking , or some winged creature might repeat your words .

Pericope

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Bible Dictionary

  • Instruction

    [nave] INSTRUCTION From nature, Prov. 24:30-34; Eccl. 1:13-18; 3; 4:1; Matt. 6:25-30. See: Parables. From the study of human nature, Eccl. 3-12. By Object Lessons: The pot of maa, Ex. 16:32. The pillar of twelve stones at the f...

  • Fool

    [nave] FOOL: Psa. 5:5; Psa. 14:1 Psa. 53:1. Psa. 74:18, 22; Psa. 107:17; Prov. 1:7, 22; Prov. 3:35; Prov. 9:6-8, 13-17; Prov. 10:1, 8 v. 10.13,14,18,23Prov. 14:1, 7-9, 15; Prov. 15:7, 20, 21; Prov. 17:24, 25; Prov. 18:2, 6, 7; Pro...

  • Speaking

    [nave] SPEAKING. Evil Ex. 22:28; Job 19:18; Psa. 10:7, 8; Psa. 12:3, 4; Psa. 34:13; Psa. 35:21; Psa. 41:5-9; Psa. 52:2-4; Psa. 59:12; Psa. 64:2-5; Psa. 69:12, 26; Psa. 70:3; Psa. 102:8; Psa. 106:33; Psa. 119:23; Psa. 120:1-7; Psa...

  • Words

    [nave] WORDS Of Jesus: Gracious, Luke 4:22; spirit and life, John 6:63; eternal life, John 6:68; shall judge, John 12:47, 48. Of the wise: As goads, and as nails well fastened, Eccl. 12:11; gracious, Eccl. 10:12. Spoken in season...

  • Serpent

    [isbe] SERPENT - sur'-pent: 1. General: Serpents are not particularly abundant in Palestine, but they are often mentioned in the Bible. In the Hebrew there are 11 names. The New Testament has four Greek names and the Septuagint emp...
    [smith] The Hebrew word nachash is the generic name of any serpent. The following are the principal biblical allusions to this animal its subtlety is mentioned in (Genesis 3:1) its wisdom is alluded to by our Lord in (Matthew 10:18) ...
    [nave] SERPENT Satan appears in the form of, to Eve, Gen. 3:1-15; 2 Cor. 11:3. Subtlety of, Gen. 3:1; Eccl. 10:8; Matt. 10:16. Curse upon, Gen. 3:14, 15; 49:17. Feeds upon the dust, Gen. 3:14; Isa. 65:25; Mic. 7:17. Unfit for f...

  • Slander

    [nave] SLANDER Comes from the evil heart, Luke 6:45. Often arises from hatred, Psa. 109:3. Idleness leads to, 1 Tim. 5:13. The wicked addicted to, Psa. 50:20. Hypocrites addicted to, Prov. 11:9. A characteristic of the devil, ...

  • Rulers

    [nave] RULERS Appointed and removed by God. See: Government, God in. Chastised, Dan. 4. See: Nation. Monarchical, See: Kings. Patriarchal, Gen. 27:29, 37. Instances of Nimrod, Gen. 10:8-10. Abraham, Gen. 14:13-24; 17:6; 21:2...

  • BANQUETS

    [smith] among the Hebrews, were not only a means of social enjoyment, but were a part of the observance of religious festivity. At the three solemn festivals the family also had its domestic feast. (16:11) Sacrifices, both ordinary a...

  • Reverence

    [nave] REVERENCE For God, Gen. 17:3; Ex. 3:5; 19:16-24; 34:29-35; Isa. 45:9. See: Fear of God. For God's house, Lev. 19:30; 26:2. For ministers, 1 Sam. 16:4; Acts 28:10; 1 Cor. 16:18; Phil. 2:29; 1 Thess. 5:12, 13; 1 Tim. 5:17; ...

  • Riches

    [nave] RICHES. Deut. 6:10-12; Deut. 8:10-18; Deut. 31:20; Deut. 32:15; 1 Sam. 2:7; Psa. 37:16; Prov. 10:2, 22; Prov. 11:4, 28; Prov. 13:7, 8; Prov. 14:24; Prov. 15:6, 16, 17; Prov. 16:8; Prov. 19:4; Prov. 21:6; Prov. 23:4, 5; Prov...

  • Money

    [nave] MONEY Silver used as, Gen. 17:12, 13, 23, 27; 20:16; 23:9, 13; 31:15; 37:28; 42:25-35; 43:12-23; 44:1-8; 47:14-18; Ex. 12:44; 21:11, 21, 34, 35; 22:7, 17, 25; 30:16; Lev. 22:11; 25:37, 51; 27:15, 18; Num. 3:48-51; 18:16; Deu...

  • Laziness

    [nave] LAZINESS Prov. 6:6, 9-11 Prov. 24:33. Prov. 10:4, 5, 26; Prov. 12:9, 24, 27; Prov. 13:4; Prov. 14:23; Prov. 15:19; Prov. 18:9; Prov. 19:15, 24; Prov. 20:4, 13; Prov. 21:25, 26; Prov. 23:21; Prov. 24:30, 31, 33, 34; Prov. 26:...

  • King

    [nave] KING Called King of kings, Ezra 7:12; Ezek. 26:7; Dan. 2:37. Divinely authorized, Deut. 17:15; 1 Sam. 9:16, 17; 16:12; 1 Chr. 22:10; 2 Chr. 2:11, 12; Prov. 8:15; Dan. 2:21, 37; 4:17; 5:20; Hos. 8:4; 13:11. How chosen: By d...

  • DECAY

    [isbe] DECAY - de-ka': Although this word is still in good use in both its literal sense, of the putrefaction of either animal or vegetable matter, and its derived sense, denoting any deterioration, decline or gradual failure, the ...

  • BIRDS

    [isbe] BIRDS - burds (`ayiT; Greek variously ta peteina (Mt 13:4) ta ornea tou ouranou (Rev 19:17) ornis (Mt 23:37; Lk 13:34) Latin, avis; Old English "brid"): I. Meaning of the Word. All authorities agree that the exact origin of ...

  • Worldliness

    [nave] WORLDLINESS. 1 Sam. 8:19, 20; Job 20:4-29; Job 21:11-15; Psa. 49:16-18; Psa. 73:2-22; Prov. 14:12, 13; Prov. 15:21; Prov. 21:17; Prov. 23:20, 21; Prov. 27:1, 7; Eccl. 1:8; Eccl. 2:1-12; Eccl. 6:11, 12; Eccl. 8:15-17; Eccl. ...

  • AMULET

    [isbe] AMULET - am'-u-let (qemia, lechashim, mezuzah, tephillin, tsitsith; phulakterion): Modern scholars are of opinion that our English word amulet comes from the Latin amuletum, used by Pliny (Naturalis Historia, xxviii, 28; xxx...

  • Wisdom

    [nave] WISDOM Of Joseph, Gen. 41:16, 25-39; Acts 7:10. Of Moses, Acts 7:22. Of Bezaleel, Ex. 31:3-5; 35:31-35; 36:1. Of Aholiab, Ex. 31:6; 35:34, 35; 36:1; of other skilled artisans, Ex. 36:2; of women, Ex. 35:26. Of Hiram, 1 K...

  • BABBLER

    [isbe] BABBLER - bab'-ler ba`al ha-lashon; the King James Version of Eccl 10:11 literally, "master of the tongue"; the Revised Version (British and American) CHARMER; lapistes, the King James Version of Ecclesiasticus 20:7; the Rev...

  • DINNER

    [isbe] DINNER - din'-er (ariston; Mt 22:4; Lk 11:38 (the Revised Version, margin "breakfast"); 14:12; compare Ruth 2:14; Jn 21:13): In oriental as in classical lands it was customary, in ancient times, as now, to have but two meals...
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Expository Notes on the Bible (Constable)

  • I believe that the message of Ecclesiastes is essentially a positive one. This may seem strange since the vanity of various human endeavors is such a major theme of this book. Nevertheless the total statement that Solomon mad...
  • I. The introductory affirmation 1:1-11A. Title and theme 1:1-21. The title 1:12. The theme 1:2B. The futility of all human endeavor 1:3-111. The vanity of work 1:32. The illustrations from life 1:4-11II. The futility of work ...
  • Clues in the text indicate the value and purpose of 6:10-11:6. The phrases "does not know"and "cannot discover"occur frequently (6:12; 7:14, 24, 28; 8:17; 19:1, 12; 10:14; 11:2, 6). Also the recurrence of "it is good"(7:18) a...
  • The emphasis in this section (9:1-11:6) is on what man does not know because God has not revealed many things. Solomon also emphasized, however, that the remaining mystery in this subject (8:16-17) must not diminish human joy...
  • Solomon's emphasis in 9:2-10 was on the fact that a righteous person could not be more certain of his or her earthly future than the wicked. In 9:11-10:11 his point was that the wise cannot be more sure of his or her earthly ...
  • Since we do not know what our earthly future holds (vv. 12-15), even though governmental officials may prove reprehensible (vv. 16-19) it is not wise to criticize them (v. 20).10:12-15 Generally wise people speak graciously, ...
  • In 1:12-6:9, Solomon demonstrated that all work is ultimately futile for two reasons. It does not yield anything really permanent under the sun. Moreover we can never be sure we will enjoy the fruits of our labor before we di...
  • In conclusion Solomon repeated his original thesis (v. 8; cf. 1:2) and his counsel in view of life's realities (vv. 13-14). In between these statements he set forth his source of authority for writing what we have in Ecclesia...

Expositions Of Holy Scripture (Maclaren)

  • The labour of the foolish wearieth every one of them, because he knoweth not how to go to the city.'--Eccles. 10:15.Ox the surface this seems to be merely a piece of homely, practical sagacity, conjoined with one of the bitte...
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