Ecclesiastes 10:12 - Meaning and Application

Solomon has already shown the value of wisdom and how much it helps us manage life well. Here he turns to the harm of foolishness and shows how it exposes people. This may also be a warning to rulers who give fools places of honor.

Fools talk a great deal, but they often say nothing useful. Their speech shows their folly in its many words, its interruptions, and its harmful effects. By contrast, the words of a wise person are gracious, that is, full of kindness and fitting for the occasion. They reflect grace in the heart and bring grace to those who hear them. The lips of a fool, however, do not only bring him shame and make him look ridiculous. They can also bring him ruin, because careless and rebellious speech may lead the authorities to examine and punish him. Adonijah, King David’s son, foolishly spoke against his own life (1 Kings 2:23). Many people have been brought low because their own tongues turned against them (Psalm 64:8).

A fool’s speech comes from his own weakness and sin. “The beginning of the words of his mouth is foolishness” means that folly is stored up in his heart, and that corrupt heart is the source of his polluted speech. As soon as he starts talking, his foolishness shows. He speaks carelessly, angrily, and just like the kind of person he is.

His words often rise to a worse state, and they tend toward harm. “The end of his talk is madness” means that he soon talks himself into a wild and shameful fury. What begins as lack of self-control ends in open anger and reckless speech. At bottom, he is aiming at mischief. So the bitter root in him produces a bitter harvest. It is no surprise when those who begin foolishly end madly, because an untamed tongue grows more violent the more freedom it gets.

A fool is also full of words, especially a quick-tempered fool who never knows when to stop. He wants the last word, even if it is only a repeat of the first. Since his words have little weight or strength, he tries to make up for that by saying them over and over. That is why repetition is often a sign of emptiness. Many people who lack good sense are full of talk, and the noisiest people are often the least solid.

The next words may be taken in two ways. First, they may correct his proud boasting about what he will do and what he will have. He speaks as if he can control the future, but no one can tell what will happen in his own lifetime, much less after he is gone (Proverbs 27:1). If we truly remembered our ignorance and uncertainty about the future, we would leave off many foolish words.

Or second, these words may be mocking his empty repetition. He keeps talking because he likes the sound of his own voice. Even when he says something common, he repeats it as if it were new. The saying about “what shall be after him who can tell him?” fits this habit, like the pointless repetition of Battus in Ovid. This kind of vain repetition is what Jesus warns against (Matthew 6:7).

Fools also toil a great deal to no purpose. The work they take on wears them out, because they keep chasing foolish and worthless goals. Their efforts are spent on the world, the body, and food that does not last. In that pursuit, they exhaust themselves for nothing (Habakkuk 2:13; Isaiah 55:2). They choose hard slavery instead of true freedom.

Even the work that is necessary and could be useful becomes tiring to them, because they do it badly and without wisdom. If they handled their affairs wisely, the same work would be easier and more pleasant. Many people complain that duties of religion are heavy, when they would have little reason to complain if they exercised Christian piety, that is, practical godliness, with sound judgment. Foolish people wear themselves out in endless efforts and still get nowhere, because they do not know how to go to the city. That is, they cannot even manage the plainest and most obvious matters, like finding the road into a city. Poor judgment steals both the comfort and the benefit of their work.

By contrast, the road to the heavenly city is excellent. It is a highway, and even wayfaring people, though fools, will not miss it (Isaiah 35:8). Yet sinful folly causes people to miss even that way.