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 future than the fool.
9:11-12 Wisdom does not guarantee a good job or a prosperous future. Likewise sometimes the fastest runner does not win a foot race and the stronger army does not win a battle Usually the best succeed but not always. The reason for this is that everyone is subject to misfortune that we cannot anticipate or control (v. 12).
9:13-16 In this illustration clearly wisdom is better than strength, but even so it does not guarantee a reward. People generally do not value wisdom as highly as wealth even though wisdom is really worth more.
9:17-10:1 Just a little folly can decrease the value of wisdom. For example, a wise person can end his opportunity to provide wisdom to others by giving foolish advice just once. This, too, is unfortunate, but it is a fact of life.
10:2-7 A wise person may also lose his opportunity to give counsel through the error of someone else, for example, one of the rulers he has been advising. "The right"and "the left"(v. 2) are not the correct way and the incorrect way. They are not the political right and left, conservatism and liberalism, either. They are the place of protection and the place of danger (cf. Ps. 16:8; 110:5; 121:5). The "road"(v. 3) is not a literal highway but the fool's metaphorical way of life. The wise man does not quit his job when his boss gets angry with him. He maintains his composure and so gives the impression rightly or wrongly that his boss did not need to be angry.
"The lesson is that the self-controlled person who has less rank is really more powerful than the out-of-control supposed superior."67
Unfortunately one's good work does not always receive the praise it deserves. Sometimes the promotion goes to the less qualified person because of the supervisor's caprice. Consequently the ruler's illogical decision nullifies the better worker's wisdom (vv. 5-7).
10:8-11 Improper timing can also nullify wisdom. Four different situations illustrate the fact that though wisdom is valuable in a variety of everyday tasks (vv. 8-10) one can lose its advantage if the timing is not right (v. 11).
