Ecclesiastes 10:13

At the beginning his words ¹  are foolish and at the end ²  his talk ³  is wicked madness, ⁴ 

Jud 14:15; 1Sa 20:26-33; 1Sa 22:7,8,16-18; 1Sa 25:10,11; 2Sa 19:41-43; 2Sa 20:1; 2Ki 6:27,31; Pr 29:9; Mt 2:7,8,16; Lu 6:2,11; Lu 11:38,53,54; Joh 12:10; Ac 5:28-33; Ac 6:9-11; Ac 7:54-59; Ac 19:24-28

¹ tn Heb “the words of his mouth.”

² sn The terms “beginning” and “end” form a merism, a figure of speech in which two opposites are contrasted to indicate totality (e.g., Deut 6:7; Ps 139:8; Eccl 3:2-8). The words of a fool are madness from “start to finish.”

³ tn Heb “his mouth.”

⁴ tn Heb “madness of evil.”