Ecclesiastes 10:13

10:13 At the beginning his words ¹  are foolish

and at the end ²  his talk ³  is wicked madness, ⁴ 

[10:13]  ¹ tn Heb “the words of his mouth.”

[10:13]  ² sn The terms “beginning” and “end” form a merism, a figure of speech in which two opposites are contrasted to indicate totality (e.g., Deut 6:7; Ps 139:8; Eccl 3:2-8). The words of a fool are madness from “start to finish.”

[10:13]  ³ tn Heb “his mouth.”

[10:13]  ⁴ tn Heb “madness of evil.”