Ecclesiastes 10

Ecclesiastes 10 is the tenth chapter of the Book of Ecclesiastes in the Hebrew Bible or the Old Testament of the Christian Bible. The book contains philosophical speeches by a character called ' Qoheleth', composed probably between the 5th and 2nd centuries BCE. Peshitta, Targum, and Talmud attribute the authorship of the book to King Solomon. This chapter focuses on foolishness in persons, in high places, in action, in words and even in national life.

Text

The original text was written in Hebrew. This chapter is divided into 20 verses.

Textual witnesses

Some early manuscripts containing the text of this chapter in Hebrew are of the Masoretic Text, which includes Codex Leningradensis.
There is also a translation into Koine Greek known as the Septuagint, made in the last few centuries BCE. Extant ancient manuscripts of the Septuagint version include Codex Vaticanus, Codex Sinaiticus, and Codex Alexandrinus. The Greek text is probably derived from the work of Aquila of Sinope or his followers.

Foolishness in personal life (10:1–3)

This section speaks of foolishness in the invisible side of one's life, contrasted to face, hands or body. In verse 1 Qoheleth observes the impact of "a little folly" on one otherwise respected for "a great weight of wisdom".

Foolishness in high places (10:4–7)

Folly can be found within the leadership of a nation and results in odd reversals of position and prestige, in a society which Stuart Weeks describes as "topsy-turvy".

Verse 4

For "calmness", the New [King James Version] notes that "healing" or "health" translate the Hebrew more literally. Weeks notes that this verse "probably commends 'soothing' rather than
'calmness'".

Foolishness in action (10:8–11)

Michael Eaton summarises this section as "vindictiveness has its built-in penalties", and "slackness may nullify inherent skill". Precautionary measures using wisdom can avert accidents, but are of no use when it is too late.

Verse 9

People who quarry stones or who split logs of wood are vulnerable to occupational hazards.

Foolishness in words (10:12–15)

Spoken words can be a test of wisdom, as the ones from the wise can be helpful, but the foolish ones originate from the foolishness of the heart.

Foolishness in national life (10:16–20)

Qoheleth contrasts the way of disaster and the way of safety in national level. Eating and drinking early on a day indicate self-centered indulgence. Qoheleth does not despise laughter, wine or money, but the point is that "the pleasures of life should not be its total outlook", and one needs "to take life day by day from the hand of God".