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Matthew Henry

Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary - Ecclesiastes 10:4-11

The scope of these verses is to keep subjects loyal and dutiful to the government. In Solomon's reign the people were very rich, and lived in prosperity, which perhaps made them proud and petulant, and when the taxes were high, though they had enough to pay them with, it is probable that many conducted themselves insolently towards the government and threatened to rebel. To such Solomon here gives some necessary cautions. I. Let not subjects carry on a quarrel with their prince upon any... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Ecclesiastes 10:8

He that diggeth a pit shall fall into it ,.... This and the three following clauses are proverbial expressions, teaching men to be wise and cautious, lest by their conduct they bring mischief upon themselves; as it often is, the one that digs a pit for another, falls into it himself, as the wise man's father before him had observed, Psalm 7:15 ; as kings that lay snares for their people, and subjects that plot against their sovereign; or courtiers that form schemes for the rain of those... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Ecclesiastes 10:9

Whoso removeth stones shall be hurt therewith ,.... That carries them from the quarry, where they are dug; or takes them from a heap, where they lie; or that attempts to pull them out of a building, where they are put; or removes them from places, where they are set as boundaries and landmarks; all which is troublesome, and by which men get hurt; the stones fall upon them, or are too heavy for them, or they do what they should not do, and so bring themselves into trouble; as do all such... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Ecclesiastes 10:10

If the iron be blunt ,.... With which a man cleaves wood: the axe, made of iron: and he do not whet the edge ; with some proper instrument to make it sharper, that it may cut the more easily; then must he put to more strength ; he must give a greater blow, strike the harder, and use more force; and yet it may not be sufficient, or; it may be to no purpose, and he himself may be in the greatest danger of being hurt; as such are who push things with all their might and main, without... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Ecclesiastes 10:11

Surely the serpent will bite without enchantment ,.... See Jeremiah 8:17 . Or rather, "without a whisper" F20 בלא לחש "absque susurro", Pagniuus; "absque sibilo", Tigurine version. ; without hissing, or any noise, giving no warning at all: so the Vulgate Latin version renders it, "in silence"; some serpents bite, others sting, some both; see Proverbs 23:32 ; some hiss, others not, as here; and a babbler is no better ; a whisperer, a backbiter, a busy tattling body, that... read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Ecclesiastes 10:8

Whoso breaketh a hedge, a serpent shall bite him - While spoiling his neighbor's property, he himself may come to greater mischief: while pulling out the sticks, he may be bit by a serpent, who has his nest there. Some have supposed that נחש nachash here means a thorn; perhaps from the similarity of its prick to the serpent's sting. He who forces his way through a hedge will be pricked by the thorns. read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Ecclesiastes 10:9

Whoso removeth stones - This verse teaches care and caution. Whoever pulls down an old building is likely to be hurt by the stones; and in cleaving wood many accidents occur for want of sufficient caution. read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Ecclesiastes 10:10

If the iron be blunt - If the axe have lost its edge, and the owner do not sharpen it, he must apply the more strength to make it cut: but the wisdom that is profitable to direct will teach him, that he should whet his axe, and spare his strength. Thus, without wisdom and understanding we cannot go profitably through the meanest concerns in life. read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Ecclesiastes 10:11

The serpent will bite without enchantment - לחש בלא belo lachash , without hissing. As a snake may bite before it hiss, so also will the babbler, talkative person, or calumniator. Without directly speaking evil, he insinuates, by innuendoes, things injurious to the reputation of his neighbor. Gif the eddir bite in silence, noyhing lasse than he hath that privily backbiteth - Old MS. Bible. "A babbler of his tongue is no better than a serpent that styngeth without hyssynge." -... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Ecclesiastes 10:8

He that diggeth a pit shall fall into it. This proverb occurs in Proverbs 26:27 , and, as expressive of the retribution that awaits evil-doers, finds parallels in Psalms 7:15 , Psalms 7:16 ; Psalms 9:15 ; Psalms 10:2 ; Ecclesiasticus 27:25, 26. The" pit" ( gummats, ἅπαξ λεγόμενον ) is such a one as was made to capture wild animals, and the maker of it is supposed to approach it incautiously, and to fall into it. But the scope of our passage is rather to speak of what may... read more

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