Ecclesiastes 10:3

10:3 Even when a fool walks along the road he lacks sense,

and shows everyone what a fool he is.

Ecclesiastes 10:14

10:14 yet a fool keeps on babbling.

No one knows what will happen;

who can tell him what will happen in the future?


tn Heb “he lacks his heart.”

tn Heb “he tells everyone.”

sn A fool’s lack of wisdom is obvious to everyone, even when he is engaged in the simple, ordinary actions of life.

tn Heb “and the fool multiplies words.” This line is best taken as the third line of a tricola encompassing 10:13-14a (NASB, NRSV, NJPS, Moffatt) rather than the first line of a tricola encompassing 10:14 (KJV, NEB, RSV, NAB, ASV, NIV). Several versions capture the sense of this line well: “a fool prates on and on” (Moffatt) and “Yet the fool talks and talks!” (NJPS).

tn Heb “after him”; or “after he [dies].”