DEAD ¹flies cause the │ ONE of a swarm of blow-flies
ointment of the apothecary to │ tainting corrupts the
send forth a stinking savour: │ confectioner’s conserve, and
_so doth_ a little folly him │ esteemed above reason and above
that is in reputation for │ reputation too is of false
wisdom _and_ honour. │ prudence――just a little.
│
¹ _Hebrew_ Flies of death. │
X. (1.) =Flies of death= (זבוב, occurs Isaiah vii. 18 only, as an emblem
of the Egyptian plague) =cause to stink= (singular, _i.e._ a single
blow-fly out of many will do this, see Proverbs xiii. 5 for the only
other instance of future hiphil), and =cause to belch out= (Psalms
lix. 7, Proverbs xv. 2, _i.e._ with putrefaction) =the oil= (see
chapter vii. 1) =of the apothecary. Precious more than wisdom more than
honour= (_i.e._ and _more_ than honour also), =follies= (but observe
סכלות, elaborate follies or false prudence, chapter ii. 3), =a little=
(distributive singular, one out of many such. The LXX. render τίμιον
ὀλίγον σοφίας ὑπὲρ δόξαν ἀφροσύνης μεγάλην, ‘and a little wisdom
is more precious than great glory of folly.’ The objection to this
rendering of the LXX. is that they displace, quite contrary to their
usual custom, ‘_a little_,’ which comes at the end of the sentence, a
difficulty which D. F. X. palliate by reading μεγάλης――‘than the glory
of _great_ folly.’ The Syriac reads, ‘so a little folly is more weighty
than wisdom and great glory.’ Symmachus reads, κἂν μικρά, ‘even if
a little.’ On the whole, however, and remembering the meaning of
סכלות, which is a perverse or false wisdom, the text as it stands makes
very good sense: ‘A single blow-fly will corrupt and make ferment
the [carefully prepared] oil of the apothecary; so more precious
than wisdom or honour, even is a little one out of the many perverse
follies,’ _i.e._ this perverse kind of wisdom will destroy a reputation
for intellect and probity, and that also even when the gain proposed
is but a small matter, and will cause the subject of it to sacrifice
prudence and reputation for the sake of some whim which he knows is not
worth having).
2 A wise man’s heart _is_ at │ The heart of the wise man is at
his right hand; but a fool’s │ his right hand, but the heart
heart at his left. │ of a foolish one is at his left
│ hand.
(2.) =The heart of a wise man is at his right, but the heart of a
foolish one is at his left= (the heart is really at the left side,
but this is the natural heart. Heart is however to be understood
not as meaning the understanding, but moral sentiments, which is its
metaphorical signification in this book).
3 Yea also, when he that is │ And also in the way, like the
a fool walketh by the way, his │ wise fool he is, out of heart
¹wisdom faileth _him_, and he │ he walks, and says to all, What
saith to every one _that_ he │ elaborate folly _this_ is!
_is_ a fool. │
│
¹ _Hebrew_ his heart. │
(3.) =And moreover in the way= (which word ‘way’ is so constantly used
in an ethical sense――Psalms cxix. 1――that we cannot overlook it here)
=like that which is the wise fool’s= (the Masorets notice the article
here, and pronounce it superfluous, but it is not so; for the meaning
is, that it is like the perversely wise fool’s way generically, in this)
that as _he walks, his heart_ (the third time ‘heart’ has occurred in
this passage, raising the word into great emphasis and importance),
=fails= (the Authorized Version considers this to mean a failure in
wisdom, but it is rather a failure of confidence, which is the ethical
meaning of the term ‘heart’) =and says= (the nearest nominative is לב,
heart, and so the LXX. understood, for they render ἃ λογιεῖται, κ.τ.λ.
‘that which he thinks of’ _is_ folly; this makes good sense) =to all,
perverse folly it is= (emphatic, hence the meaning is, ‘he is out of
heart altogether,’ or ‘his heart misgives him;’ and it says, ‘what
perverse folly it all really is.’ Conscience convicts those clever
wicked plans, and they who devise them know that they are only
elaborate mistakes).
4 If the spirit of the ruler │ If the spirit of the ruling
rise up against thee, leave │ one should go forth against
not thy place; for yielding │ thee, thy station do not quit,
pacifieth great offences. │ because a remedy may cure
│ wicked errors which are great.
(4.) =If a spirit= of =the ruling one= (not, as usually rendered, the
ruler, which does not exactly convey the idea) =goes up against thee=
(the LXX. show that they so understood it by rendering πνεῦμα τοῦ
ἐξουσιάζοντος) =thy place do not yield= (the sense of the passage is,
‘If there be too strong a spirit against you, if you are sailing, as
it were, in the teeth of the wind, do not yield when you have good
grounds for remaining:’ this makes excellent sense, is cognate to the
accompanying passages, and follows the LXX.) =for a healing= (מרפא,
occurs Proverbs xiv. 30 and xv. 4 only, the LXX. read ἴαμα, ‘a remedy’)
=pacifies mistakes= (with the usual idea of culpability attaching to
this word) =great ones= (the idea is ‘do not yield to mere adverse
_circumstances_ when even culpable _mistakes_ admit of a remedy.’)
5 There is an evil _which_ I │ There exists an evil which I
have seen under the sun, as an │ have observed in this work-day
error _which_ proceedeth ¹from │ world, like an error which goes
the ruler: │ forth from before the face of
│ the Powerful,
¹ _Hebrew_ from before. │
(5.) =There exists an evil= (notice abstract with its shade of meaning,
which) =I have seen under the sun, like that which is erroneous= (שגגה,
see chapter v. 5 (6), ‘an inadvertence’), =which goes out= (the verb
has the contract-relative joined with it; the exact idea is that it is
like an inadvertence, such as might go out on the part of the ruler’s
command, the great Ruler being in the mind of the writer, but the
proposition is general) =from the face of the caused to have power=
(a ‘providential mistake,’ then).
6 Folly is set ¹in great │ viz., the setting of false
dignity, and the rich sit in │ wisdom in high places, and the
low place. │ rich sit in low estate.
│
¹ _Hebrew_ in great heights. │
(6.) =Set= (that is, the ruler does this, but, as usual, this is not
expressed when the proposition is intended to have a general bearing)
=the perverse fool= (generic――‘perverse folly’ then will be a good
rendering) =in high places many a one, and the rich= (but the hiphil
form is worthy of remark, ‘persons that make rich’) =in a low place=
(שֵפֶל occurs so punctuated at Psalms cxxxvi. 23 only, rendered ‘low
estate’) =sit.=
7 I have seen servants upon │ I have seen serfs on horseback,
horses, and princes walking as │ and princes walking like serfs
servants upon the earth. │ afoot.
(7.) =I have observed servants= (slaves, that is, who ought to serve)
=upon horseback, and princes walking as servants= (‘ought to do’ is no
doubt involved in this expression――‘servants’ repeated being emphatic)
=upon the earth= (_i.e._ afoot).
8 He that diggeth a pit │ One digs a pit, into _that_ he
shall fall into it; and whoso │ falls: or breaks a hedge, gets
breaketh an hedge, a serpent │ bitten by a serpent.
shall bite him. │
(8.) =Dig= (not necessarily either a participle or an imperative)
=a pitfall= (גומץ occurs here only, and is said to be a late word; it
occurs in Arabic and Syriac. That a ‘pitfall’ is meant is evident
from the context), =in it= (emphatic) =he falls= (a sinister intent in
digging this pit is not necessarily implied, but the context shows that
such is primarily aimed at: this is the more evident when we recollect
that חָפַר is to ‘dig,’ and ♦חָפֵר ‘to bring to confusion’); =and break a
wall= (_i.e._ an enclosure, see Job xix. 8 for the precise meaning of
the root, hence also Numbers xxii. 24), =bites him a serpent= (as we
say, ‘gets bitten by a serpent,’ which would naturally lurk in loose
stone walls).
♦ “חָפֵד” replaced with “חָפֵר”
9 Whoso removeth stones │ Moves stones, and finds them
shall be hurt therewith; _and_ │ in his way: chops wood, must
he that cleaveth wood shall be │ be careful with it.
endangered thereby. │
(9.) =Cause to move= (♦hiphil participle of נסע, ‘bring up’――see
Exodus xv. 22) =stones, be troubled= (see Genesis xlv. 5) =with them=
(emphatic); =cleaving= (poel participle, occurs Psalms cxli. 7; Isaiah
lxiii. 12 only) =wood= (plural ‘logs of wood’) =be endangered= (this
is called a future niphal by the Masorets, who so point, but the real
meaning of סכן is evidently to ‘take care,’ so that the reading of the
LXX. by ♠κινδυνεύσει, ‘he shall be endangered,’ is _ad sensum_――it is
literally ‘he shall take care,’) =with them= (emphatic, all these are
instances of either unexpected or unintentional results).
♦ “hiphal” replaced with “hiphil” for consistency
♠ “κινδευνεύσει” replaced with “κινδυνεύσει”
10 If the iron be blunt, and │ If the axe be blunt, then
he do not whet the edge, then │ its edge had best be set: and
must he put to more strength: │ then if one of the strong hits
but wisdom _is_ profitable to │ prevail, the skilful hit was
direct. │ it.
(10.) =If blunt= (קהה――occurs Jeremiah xxxi. 29, 30, and Ezekiel
xviii. 2――in the sense of ‘teeth set on edge:’ there the Masorets
point as Kal, here as piel) =the iron, and he= (emphatic, but there
is no nominative expressed to which this can refer) =not the faces=
(usually considered to refer to the edges of the axe-head) =sharpen=
(occurs Ezekiel xxi. 21 (26), as pilpel of קלל, which has the meaning
of ‘lightness,’ ‘swiftness;’ the word occurs as an adjective, Numbers
xxi. 5, in the sense of ‘light,’――our soul loatheth this _light_ food)
=and strong ones will prevail= (singular, If ‘strong ones’ be the
nominative, this is an instance of a distributive plural――one or more
of these will; the future piel has the meaning ‘_strengthen_,’ the
Kal ‘_to prevail_,’ but we can only consider this as a Masoretic
conjecture) =and profit causing success= (but the LXX. render by
περισσεία, ‘advantage’――see below; but כשר occurs only Esther viii. 5,
and chapter xi. 6; see however כשרון, which occurs chapter ii. 21, iv. 4,
v. 10 (11), which we have seen occasion to render ‘success;’ hence
the meaning, ‘the made successful is’) =wisdom= (not generic, _i.e._
a single instance of it). The general scope is quite clear; it is
the superiority of wisdom to brute force, and so all commentators and
versions understand it; but the exact rendering is very difficult;――all
the versions are perplexed and discordant, and the copies of the LXX.
have an important textual variation. We will give these at length,
beginning with the LXX. as the most ancient. This reads――Ἐὰν ἐκπέσῃ
τὸ σιδήριον καὶ αὐτὸς πρόσωπον ἐτάραξεν καὶ δυνάμεις δυναμώσει καὶ
περισσεία τοῦ ἀνδρείου (which B. reads τῷ ἀνδρὶ οὐ, and E. X. τοῦ
ἀνδρὸς) σοφία――‘If the axe-head should fall off, then the man troubles
his countenance, and he must put forth more strength; and wisdom is the
advantage of an energetic man.’ The Syriac version, (‡ Syriac phrase)
――‘If the axe be blunt, and it troubles the face and increases the
slain; and the advantage of the diligent is wisdom.’ The Vulgate
reads――‘Si retusam fuerit ferrum _et hoc non ut prius_ sed hebetatum
fuerit, multo labore ♦exacuetur et post industriam ♠sequetur
sapientia’――‘If the iron should be blunt, and this _not as before_,
but should have lost its edge, it is sharpened with much labour; and
after industry will follow wisdom.’ Jerome renders the former part in
conformity with the Vulgate; but after ‘_non ut prius_,’ which he also
has, runs on with――‘sed conturbatum fuerit, virtutibus corroborabitur,
et reliquum fortitudinis sapientia est ...’――‘but is troubled; it shall
be strengthened by virtues, and the remainder of strength is wisdom.’
It will be seen then that we have reason to suspect a corruption of the
text; and we think that the suspicious ‘non ut prius’ of the Vulgate
and Jerome shows what this corruption was. We notice also that neither
the LXX. nor the Syriac take any notice of the negative. Guided by
the clue thus given, we will venture on the following conjectural
emendation of the text. We imagine that it was originally written thus,
והוא להפנים קלקל, the ה being written full――like ♣שתקיף in chapter vi. 10,
compare also chapter viii. 1, Nehemiah ix. 19――and having the meaning,
‘to _the_ faces’ or ‘edges.’ Such an insertion of ה being unusual,
would cause suspicion to rest on the passage, and the transition to
לא פנים would be easy. This, however, was but one out of many possible
conjectures, and the Vulgate has preserved another, namely, that
the reading was לפני, ‘as before,’ and, as was common with the ancient
versions, inserts both the reading and its variant into the text. This
conjectural change in the text will make all quite clear; the passage
will then read thus――‘If the iron be blunt, and so it is as to its
edges whetted, and so too blows prevail, and so too an advantage is
the success [due to an instance] of wisdom,’ _i.e._ in this case a
skilful hit. That is, if the axe be blunt, grinding, force, and skill
together, will produce the required result. No doubt this can only be
put forth as mere conjecture, but, in the absence of any satisfactory
interpretation, may be admitted; for, in fact, arbitrary senses given
to words, and the insertions of explanatory glosses not immediately
deducible from the original, do amount to alterations of the text. None
of the other ancient Greek versions have been preserved in this place,
except a reading of Symmachus, which is very curious, showing still
more forcibly how early the difficulty must have arisen, since it is at
best a reading _ad sensum_ only, προέχει δὲ ὁ γοργευσάμενος εἰς σοφίαν,
‘and the nimble advances into wisdom.’
♦ “exacueter” replaced with “exacuetur”
♠ “sequeter” replaced with “sequetur”
♣ “שהתקיף” replaced with “שתקיף”
11 Surely the serpent will │ If bites the snake before the
bite without enchantment; and │ charm is sung, then what is the
¹a babbler is no better. │ profit of the skilful tongue?
│
¹ _Hebrew_ the master of │
the tongue. │
(11.) =If bites the serpent= (with the article, and therefore
generic――serpents generally) =without= (בלוא; we may well suppose that
the full form is used not without meaning; it occurs Isaiah lv. 1, 2,
in the sense of ‘the absence of,’ which well suits the context here,)
=whispering= (occurs Isaiah ii. 3, 20, and xxvi. 6; Jeremiah viii. 17,
etc.), =and= there is =nothing= of =profit to the master of the tongue=
(with article, hence generic. The rendering of the Authorized Version
is derived from the Vulgate. The alliteration shows that the aphorism
is equivocal, it is the converse of the former: skill will help force,
but after the mischief is done skill is of no use. There is also here
an ironical depreciation of serpent-charming).
12 The words of a wise man’s │ Each word of a wise man’s
mouth _are_ ¹gracious; but the │ mouth is grace, but the lips of
lips of a fool will swallow up │ a fool will swallow him apace.
himself. │
│
¹ _Hebrew_ grace. │
(12.) =The words of= (in the usual sense of reasonings) =the mouth of
a wise man, a favour= (_i.e._ are each one so), =but the lips of= the
=foolish swallow him= (future piel, occurs 2 Samuel xx. 19, 20; Job
viii. 18, in the sense of ‘destroy;’ hence the LXX. render καταποντιοῦσιν;
compare Matthew xiv. 30, xviii. 6. Here too we have a singular verb
with a plural noun――‘any one of a fool’s words may be his destruction.’
Notice also the implied difference――‘a fool talks with his _lips_, a
wise man _reasons_’).
13 The beginning of the │ The beginnings of _his_
words of his mouth _is_ │ reasonings are each a wise
foolishness: and the end of │ error, and the result of what
his ¹talk _is_ mischievous │ he says are disappointed
madness. │ expectations, every one of
│ which is mischievous.
¹ _Hebrew_ his mouth. │
(13.) =The beginning= of =words= (or reasonings) =of his mouth,
elaborate follies= (סכלות in its usual sense; and the whole being
without the article gives the meaning――‘Each beginning of the
reasonings of his mouth is one out of a number of elaborate follies;
his reasonings are themselves elaborate mistakes’), =and an end= (אחרית
is used to signify the last end, Numbers xxiii. 10; see chapter vii. 8)
=of his mouth= (repeated, ‘that same mouth’) =disappointed expectations=
(הוללות, in its usual sense in this book) =mischievous= (singular, each
one of which is so).
14 A fool also ¹is full of │ And the wise fool multiplies
words: a man cannot tell what │ his reasons, though no man
shall be; and what shall be │ understands the present, and
after him, who can tell him? │ the future results no one can
│ declare.
¹ _Hebrew_ multiplieth words.│
(14.) =And the elaborate fool multiplies words, not knowing= (_i.e._
when there is _no_ knowing by) =the man= (humanity generally) =what
it is which will be= (but the Alexandrine and Vatican read apparently
שהיה, γενόμενον, which A². E. X. alter to γενησόμενον, ‘which shall be.’
The Syriac supports the LXX., but Symmachus reads τὰ προγενόμενα ἀλλ’
οὐδὲ τὰ ἐσόμενα――‘the things which were before, but not those which
come after’――which the Vulgate follows. Jerome, however, follows the
LXX. against the Vulgate; nevertheless we should not be inclined to
alter the text, but would rather regard the reading of the LXX. as _ad
sensum_――the object being to give the difference between the contracted
and full relative and the subjunctive meaning attaching to this form.
Thus שיהיה is that which _is_ or exists, the τὸ ὄν――‘he does not know
then the real state of things’――is the meaning; for with this agrees
what follows), =and which= (full relative) =is= (or will be) =from
after him= (but there is no reason why מאחריו should not be considered
as a participial noun, as the LXX. make it, and then we must render the
‘future’ in the sense of what occurs in the future) =who tells to him=
(emphatic). The meaning of the passage is――‘That the elaborate fool
multiplies reasonings, which are sure to have an evil tendency, as they
are intended to promote his elaborate folly, although man generally
neither understands the meaning of the present, nor can divine the
future.’ The difficulty of the sentence arises from the play between
מה־שיהיה and מאחריו.
15 The labour of the foolish │ A toil of fools will
wearieth every one of them, │ weary them each one, who has
because he knoweth not how to │ altogether lost his way.
go to the city. │
(15.) =The toil= (_i.e._ ‘anxious care,’ which is the meaning of this
word) =of the foolish ones wearies him= (another distributive plural;
the result of these various fools’ labour is weariness to each of
them. It is also to be noticed that the verb is feminine, and yet עמל
is usually masculine. Several nouns are, Stuart observes, masculine
or feminine _ad libitum scriptoris_. There is however, we suspect,
a perceptible difference in the meaning in these cases. The stricter
agreement denotes closer union between the verb and its nominative;
and if this be so, the idea of the passage may be rendered by ‘the toil
of the fools is self-weariness’), =which= (full relative, equivalent
therefore to ‘because’ he does) =not know= (or is instructed) =to= (in
order to) =go towards= (אל, LXX. εἰς) =a city= (not _the_ city, as is
usually rendered.) The obvious meaning would surely be, that the fool
had lost his way, and hence as he is going wrong he has simply his
trouble for his pains.
16 ¶ Woe to thee, O land, │ Ah! woe to thee, O country,
when thy king _is_ a child, │ whose king is a child, and thy
and thy princes eat in the │ princes eat in the morning.
morning! │
(16.) =Woe to thee, land, whose king= is =a lad, and thy princes in
the morning eat= (_i.e._ ‘feast,’ the morning being the proper time for
work, and not for feasting. Compare Isaiah v. 11).
17 ¶ Blessed =art= thou, │ Blessed art thou, O country,
O land, when thy king _is_ │ whose king is the son of
the son of nobles, and thy │ nobles, and thy princes eat in
princes eat in due season, │ due season, for strength and
for strength, and not for │ not for drunkenness.
drunkenness! │
(17.) =Blessings on thee, land, whose king= is =a son of nobles=
(ἐλευθέρου, LXX.), =and thy princes in season eat, and not in
drunkenness= (but the LXX. render καὶ οὐκ αἰσχυνθήσονται――‘and shall
not be ashamed’――reading the בשתי as though the ב were radical, and
deriving the word from בוש, ‘to be ashamed.’ Thus is probably preserved
an intentional equivoke.)
18 ¶ By much slothfulness │ When they are idle, there
the building decayeth; and │ is a slender support, and
through idleness of the hands │ when both hands hang down,
the house droppeth through. │ the roof-tree will weep.
(18.) =By idlenesses= (Proverbs xix. 15 only; but עצל, ‘the sluggard,’
occurs continually in Proverbs, and once as a verb, Judges xviii. 9.
The word is pointed as a dual, but the meaning ‘idlenesses’ suits the
context) =decayeth= (מכך, occurs Kal, Psalms cvi. 43, niphal here, and
hiphil Job xxiv. 24, _all_) =the beam= (הַמְּקָרֶה here only, but the word
differs only in pointing from הַמִקְרֶה――the hap, and the equivoke could
hardly be unintentional), =and in lowness of hands drops= (occurs Job
xvi. 20, Psalms cxix. 28; but notice the readings of the LXX., which
are peculiar) =the house.=
19 ¶ A feast is made for │ For pleasure they make bread,
laughter, and wine ¹maketh │ and wine rejoices life, but
merry: but money answereth all │ silver subserves with respect
_things_. │ to everything.
│
¹ _Hebrew_ maketh glad the │
life. │
(19.) =To laughter= are =makings= (which the LXX. renders by ποιοῦσιν,
‘they make’) =bread and wine rejoices= (the Masorets consider this a
piel and transitive) =lives, and the silver= (with the article, and
therefore generic――money) =answereth with respect to all things=
(both senses of יענה are given in the versions of the LXX. ἐπακούσεται,
Alexandrine, ‘humbly obeys,’ and ταπεινώσει, Vatican, ‘will humble.’
The Alexandrine also reads σὺν τὰ πάντα. The Syriac reads also double,
as do some copies of the LXX.――(‡ Syriac phrase)――‘and money oppresses
and leads them astray in all.’ The Alexandrine reading, however, makes
quite consistent sense, and squares entirely with the rest of the
passage. Bread is prepared for pleasure rather than support, wine
rejoices hearts already merry――its real use is to cheer those who are
faint with toil or sorrow; and silver, which one can neither eat nor
drink, is preferred to bread and wine and everything else).
20 ¶ Curse not the king, │ Also, even in thy conscience
no not in thy ¹thought; and │ a king do not revile, and in
curse not the rich in thy │ secret places of the bed-chamber
bed-chamber: for a bird of the │ neither do thou revile the rich:
air shall carry the voice, and │ for a bird of the heavens will
that which hath wings shall │ carry out the rumour, and the
tell the matter. │ swift one on wings shall tell
│ the matter.
¹ _Or_, conscience. │
(20.) =Also in thy understanding= (occurs Daniel i. 4, 17; 2 Chronicles
i. 10, 11, 12 only, and always with this meaning: all the ancient
versions follow the idea contained in the LXX.’s συνείδησις, which
would seem to give the notion that this curse was a reasonable, not a
hasty one) =a king= (not the king, any king) =do not curse; and in the
innermost= of =thy bed-chambers do not= either =curse the rich= person
(the idea of cursing or reviling is of course here prominent), =for a
bird of the heavens shall cause to convey the voice= (with את and the
article, with ‘respect to that voice’ is the meaning――the rumour will
get abroad in a mysterious way) =and a lord of the winged ones= (the
Masorets wish to omit the article in ה֯כנפים) =shall tell the matter=
(the LXX. note the emphasis given by ה and the articles by adding the
pronoun σοῦ, which is simply a rendering _ad sensum_――’Treason, like
murder, will out’).