Ecclesiastes 10:3

Yea also, when he that is a fool walketh by the way, his wisdom faileth him, and he saith to every one that he is a fool. BY THE WAY - in his ordinary course; in his simplest acts (Proverbs 6:12). HE SAITH TO EVERY ONE (THAT) HE IS A FOOL - he "saith" virtually "that he" himself is a fool: he betrays himself as a fool. So the Chaldaic and Septuagint But the Vulgate, 'He thinks that everyone (else whom he meets, especially the godly wise) is a fool.' In his self-conceit, he thinks all fools but himself. The English version suits the context best ()....

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 10:3. _WHEN - A FOOL WALKETH BY THE WAY_] In every act of life, and in every company he frequents, the irreligious man shows what he is. Vanity, nonsense, and wickedness are his themes: so that in effect _he saith to every one_ that _he_ is _a fool_....

“Way” may be understood either literally (compare Ecclesiastes 10:15), or figuratively, of the course of action which he follows. HE SAITH ... - He exposes his folly to every one he meets....

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

YEA ALSO, WHEN HE THAT IS A FOOL WALKETH BY THE WAY,.... The king's highway, the common road; as he passeth along the streets, going to any place, or about any business: HIS WISDOM FAILETH [HIM]; or "his heart" p; he appears by his gait, his manner of walking, to want a heart, to be a fool; walking with a froward mouth, winking with his eyes, speaking with his feet, and teaching with his fingers; all which shows the frowardness and folly of his heart, Proverbs 6:12; or he discovers it throughout his conversation, in all the actions of it, in whatsoever business he is concerned, and in all the affairs of life. The Targum is, "when he walketh in a perplexed way;'' then his wisdom fails him; he does not know which way to take, whether to the right or left: this can never be understood of the highway of holiness, in which men, though fools, shall no

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. Hebrew. _sakal._ Same word as in verses: Ecclesiastes 10:6; Ecclesiastes 10:14, not verses: Ecclesiastes 10:2; Ecclesiastes 10:12; Ecclesiastes 10:15. WISDOM. beart. SAITH. tells. See note on Proverbs 1:7. HE. he himself (emph.)...

_Yea also, when he that is a fool walketh by the way_ The general drift of the proverb seems plain enough. "_Even when the fool is in the way_(either literally, -whenever and wherever he goes," or figuratively, -when he has been put in the right path of conduct"), _his heart_(_i. e._his intellect) _fails him, and he manifests his folly_." The last clause, however, admits of two constructions, each of which has the support of high authorities, (1) _he saith to every one that he_(the fool himself) _is a fool, i. e._betrays his unwisdom in every word he utters; or (2) _he says to every man that he_(the man he meets) _is a fool, i. e._in his self-conceit he thinks that he alone is wise (comp. Romans 12:16). On the whole the latter construction seems preferable. So it is notoriously the most significant symptom of insanity that the patient looks on all others