Ecclesiastes 10:13

Verse 13 of 20. The 10th of 12 chapters in Ecclesiastes, in Poetry and Wisdom.

9Whoso removeth stones shall be hurt therewith; and he that cleaveth wood shall be endangered thereby.

10If the iron be blunt, and he do not whet the edge, then must he put to more strength: but wisdom is profitable to direct.

11Surely the serpent will bite without enchantment; and a babbler is no better.

12The words of a wise man’s mouth are gracious; but the lips of a fool will swallow up himself.

13The beginning of the words of his mouth is foolishness: and the end of his talk is mischievous madness.

14A fool also is full of words: a man cannot tell what shall be; and what shall be after him, who can tell him?

15The labour of the foolish wearieth every one of them, because he knoweth not how to go to the city.

16Woe to thee, O land, when thy king is a child, and thy princes eat in the morning!

17Blessed art thou, O land, when thy king is the son of nobles, and thy princes eat in due season, for strength, and not for drunkenness!

Read Ecclesiastes 10

Ecclesiastes 10:13 in the World English Bible

The beginning of the words of his mouth is foolishness; and the end of his talk is mischievous madness.
Read Ecclesiastes 10:13 in the WEB

Matthew Henry on Ecclesiastes 10:13

Solomon, having shown the benefit of wisdom, and of what great advantage it is to us in the management of our affairs, here shows the mischief of folly and how it exposes men, which perhaps comes in as a reflection upon those rulers who set folly in great dignity.

Read Matthew Henry on Ecclesiastes 10:12–15: The Contemptibleness of Folly.

Pray Ecclesiastes 10:13 with someone reading it aloud.

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King James Version. Public domain. Set as prose throughout, including the poetry, because the text is published to us without its lines.