Ecclesiastes 10:2

A wise man's heart is at his right hand; but a fool's heart at his left. A WISE MAN'S HEART (IS) AT HIS RIGHT HAND - (.) The right hand is more expert than the left. The godly wise is more on his guard than the foolish sinner, though at times he slip. Better a diamond with a flaw than a pebble without one. His heart (the seat of the will, and so the guide of the understanding) is in the right place....

1-3 Those especially who make a profession of religion, should keep from all appearances of evil. A wise man has great advantage over a fool, who is always at a loss when he has anything to do. Sin is the reproach of sinners, wherever they go, and shows their folly....

Verse Ecclesiastes 10:2. _A WISE MAN'S HEART_ IS _AT HIS RIGHT HAND_] As the _right_ _hand_ is ordinarily the best exercised, strongest, and most ready, and the _left_ the contrary, they show, 1. The command which the wise man has over his own mind, feelings, passions, c., and the prudence with which he acts. And, 2. The want of prudence and management in the fool, who has no restraint on his passions, and no rule or guard upon his tongue. The _right hand_ and the _left_ are used in Scripture to express _good_ and _evil_. The wise man is always employed in doing _good_ the fool, in nonsense or evil....

The metaphor perhaps means “A wise man’s sense is in its place, ready to help and protect him; but a fool’s sense is missing when it is wanted, and so is useless.”...

EXPOSITION ECCLESIASTES 10:1 Section 11. _A little folly mars the effect of wisdom, _and is sure to make itself conspicuous. ECCLESIASTES 10:1 DEAD FLIES CAUSE THE OINTMENT OF THE APOTHECARY TO SEND FORTH A STINKING SAVOR. This is a metaphorical confirmation of the truth enunciated at the end of the last chapter, "One sinner destroyeth much good." It is like the apostle's warning to his converts, "A little leaven leaveneth the whole lump" (1 Corinthians 5:6). The Hebrew expression is literally, "flies of death," which may mean either "dead flies," as in our version and the Vulgate (muse

A WISE MAN'S HEART [IS] AT HIS RIGHT HAND,.... This is not designed to express the direct position and situation of the heart of man, wise or foolish, which is the same in both; and which, according to anatomists, is in the middle of the body, inclining to the left side; but the understanding and wisdom of men, as Aben Ezra observes; which, with a wise man, is ready a hand to direct and assist him in any affair; and which under the influence of it, he goes about with great readiness and dexterity, and performs it with great ease and facility, without sinister ends and selfish views; it inclines him to pursue the true way to honour, heaven, and happiness, which lies to the right; to seek things that are above, at the right hand of God; and, in all, his honour and glory; BUT A FOOL'S HEART [IS] AT HIS LEFT; he is at a loss for wisdom and understanding to direct him, when he has an affair...

CHAPTER 10 This chapter contains a series of proverbs, expressing the wisdom and prudence of the natural man. Here are a number of observations and all show that there is a practical value in wisdom and that it has certain advantages. These maxims are of a different kind than the proverbs in the preceding book. There we are face to face with the wisdom which is from above, here it is the wisdom of man. The name of the Lord is not mentioned once, Similar philosophic utterances can be traced in the literature of other ancient nations. They need no detailed annotations....

FOOL'S. dullard's. Hebrew. _kesil_. fat, inert. Same word as in Ecclesiastes 10:12. See note on Proverbs 1:7....

_A wise man's heart is at his right hand_ The symbolism of the right or the left hand, the former pointing to effective, the latter to ineffective, action, is so natural that it is scarcely necessary to look for its origin in the special thoughts or customs of this or that nation. It is, however, noticeable, probably as another trace of the Greek influence which pervades the book, that this special symbolism is not found elsewhere in the Old Testament, in which to "be on the right hand" of a man is a synonym for protecting him (Psalms 16:8; Psalms 110:5), while to "sit on the right hand," is to occupy the place of honour (Psalms 110:1). In Greece, on the other hand, the figurative significance was widely recognised. The left wa