Ecclesiastes 10:1
Dying flies spoil the sweetness of the ointment. Wisdom and glory is more precious than a small and shortlived folly.
Douay-Rheims 1899
In The King James Version
In Context
2The heart of a wise man is in his right hand, and the heart of a fool is in his left hand.
Cross References
Exodus 30:25And thou shalt make the holy oil of unction, an ointment compounded after the art of the perfumer,
2 Chronicles 19:2And Jehu the son of Hanani the seer met him, and said to him: Thou helpest the ungodly, and thou art joined in friendship with them that hate the Lord, and therefore thou didst deserve indeed the wrath of the Lord:
Nehemiah 13:26Did not Solomon king of Israel sin in this kind of thing? and surely among many nations, there was not a king like him, and he was beloved of his God, and God made him king over all Israel: m and yet women of other countries brought even him to sin.
Haggai 2:12Thus saith the Lord of hosts: Ask the priests the law, saying:
Matthew 5:13You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt lose its savour, wherewith shall it be salted? It is good for nothing any more but to be cast out, and to be trodden on by men.
Matthew Henry on Ecclesiastes 10:1
This chapter seems to be like Solomon's proverbs, a collection of wise sayings and observations, rather than a part of his sermon; but the preacher studied to be sententious, and "set in order many proverbs," to be brought in in his preaching. Yet the general scope of all the observations in this chapter is to recommend wisdom to us, and its precepts and rules, as of great use for the right ordering of our conversation and to caution us against folly. I. He recommends wisdom to private persons, who are in an… Read the whole commentary →