Ecclesiastes 10:13

Ecc 10:13 The beginning of the words of his mouth [is] foolishness: and the end of his talk [is] mischievous madness.

Ver. 13. The beginning o f his words are folly.] He is an inconsiderate idiot, utters incoherences, pours forth a flood of follies, his whole discourse is frivolous, futilous. To begin foolishly may befall a wise man: but when he sees it, or hath it showen unto him, he will not persist: "Once have I spoken," saith holy Job, "but I will not answer again: yea, twice, but I will proceed no further." {Job 40:4-5} Much otherwise the fool, and because he will be dicti sui dominus {as Ecc 10:11} having lashed out at first, he launcheth further out into the deep, as it were, of idle and evil prattle. And if you offer to interrupt or admonish him, the end of his talk is mischievous madness, he blusters and lets fly on all hands, laying about him like a madman. And so we have here, as one {a} saith, the serpent, the babbler (spoken of in the eleventh verse), wreathed into a circle, his two ends, head and tail, meeting together. And as at the one end he is a serpent, having his sting in his head; so at the other end he is a scorpion, having his sting in his tail.

{a} Dr Jermin.

John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Illustrating the folly and injuriousness of the fool's words; last clause of Ecc 10:12.

Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

13. The beginning of the words of his mouth is foolishness] The words point, with a profound insight into human nature, to the progress from bad to worse in one who has the gift of speech without discretion. He begins with what is simply folly, unwise but harmless, but “vires acquirit eundo” he is borne along on the swelling floods of his own declamatory fluency, and ends in what is “mischievous madness.” He commits himself to statements and conclusions which, in his calmer moments, he would have shrunk from. As has been said of such an orator or preacher, without plan or forethought, he “goes forth, not knowing whither he goeth.”

The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

The beginning of the words of his mouth is foolishness,.... As soon as ever he opens his mouth, he betrays his folly; the first word he speaks is a foolish one; or it is from the abundant folly in his heart that he speaks, which is the source and spring of all his foolish talk;

and the end of his talk is mischievous madness; to himself and others; as he goes on, he appears more and more foolish, and yet more confident of his own wisdom; and is resolutely set on having his own way and will; grows warm, and is violently hot, to have his own words regarded; and, if contradicted, is like a madman, scattering arrows, firebrands, and death; his talk from first to last is a circle of folly; and, though it begins with something weak, and may seem innocent, yet it ends and issues in wickedness and madness, in rage and wrath, in oaths and curses.

John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

All his talk from the beginning to the end is foolish and mischievous, and the more he talks, the more doth his folly appear; he proceeds from evil to worse, and adds wilfulness to his weakness, and never desists till he hath done mischief to himself or to others.

Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

13. Words… foolishness — The infatuated man would go from folly to frenzy, unless some wise friend should take up his cause, and, leaving the rash rebel in silence, plead for him with the monarch.

Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

The beginning of the words of his mouth is foolishness. A confirmation of the last clause of the preceding verse. The fool speaks according to his nature. "As saith the proverb of the ancients, Out of the wicked cometh forth wickedness". (1Sa_24:13; cutup Pro_15:2; Isa_32:6) As soon as he opens his month heutters folly, unwisdom, silliness. But he does not stop there. The end of his talk is mischievous madness. By the time he has finished, he has committed himself to statements that are worse than silly, that are presumptuous, frenzied, indicative of mental and moral depravity. Intemperate language about the secrets of God"s providence and the moral government of the world may be intended. Some think that the writer is still alluding to dangerous talk concerning a tyrannical ruler, seditious proposals, secret conspiracies, etc. The text itself does not confirm such notion with any certainty.

The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

"The beginning of the words of his mouth is foolishness; and the end of his mouth is mischievous madness." From folly (absurdity) the words which are heard from a fool's mouth rise to madness, which is compounded of presumption, wantonness, and frenzy, and which, in itself a symptom of mental and moral depravity, brings as its consequence destruction on himself (Pro 18:17). The adjective רעה is as in רע חלי, which interchanges with רעה חו Ecc 6:2; Ecc 5:12, etc. The end of his mouth, viz., of his speaking, is = the end of the words of his mouth, viz., the end which they at last reach. Instead of holeloth, there is here, with the adj. following, holeluth, with the usual ending of abstracta. The following proverb says how the words of the fool move between these two poles of folly and wicked madness: he speaks much, and as if he knew all things.

Keil & Delitzsch — Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament (1861–1891) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API. (Old Testament only.)

As words begin to flow from a fool's mouth

A fool's speech is represented by his "mouth." AT: "As a fool begins to speak" (See: Metonymy)

at the end his mouth flows with wicked madness

A fool's speech is represented by his "mouth." AT: "as he finishes talking, he speaks wicked madness" (See: Metonymy)

multiplies words

This is an idiom. AT: "keeps on talking" (See: Idiom)

what is coming

"what will happen in the future"

Who knows what is coming after him?

The writer asks this question to emphasize that no one knows what will happen in the future after one's death. This question can be written as as statement. AT: "No one knows what is coming after him." or "No one knows what will happen after he dies." (See: Rhetorical Question)

translationWords

evil

know

unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.

The beginning of the words of his mouth is folly When the Holy One, blessed be He, said to him, (Num. 22:9): “Who are these men with you?” he should have replied, “O Lord, You know,” but he said, “Balak ben Zippor the king of Moab sent them to me,” meaning that if I am despised in Your eyes, I am esteemed in the eyes of the earthly kings.

and the end of his speech is...madness Heb. הוֹלֵלוּת, madness and confusion, “Come I will counsel you with foolish lewdness.”

Rashi on the Tanakh — English translations: “The Judaica Press complete Tanach with Rashi, translated by A. J. Rosenberg” (CC BY 4.0); “Pentateuch with Rashi's commentary by M. Rosenbaum and A.M. Silbermann, 1929-1934” (public domain); “The Metsudah Tanach series, Lakewood, N.J” (CC BY 4.0); and “The Book of Joshua, Metsudah Publications, 1997” (CC BY 4.0). Text via Sefaria.