Ecclesiastes 10:3

3 Even when a fool walks along the way, He lacks wisdom, And he shows everyone that he is a fool.

Ecclesiastes 10:3 Meaning and Commentary

Ecclesiastes 10:3

Yea also, when he that is a fool walketh by the way
The king's highway, the common road; as he passeth along the streets, going to any place, or about any business: his wisdom faileth [him];
or "his heart" F16; he appears by his gait, his manner of walking, to want a heart, to be a fool; walking with a froward mouth, winking with his eyes, speaking with his feet, and teaching with his fingers; all which shows the frowardness and folly of his heart, ( Proverbs 6:12-14 ) ; or he discovers it throughout his conversation, in all the actions of it, in whatsoever business he is concerned, and in all the affairs of life. The Targum is,

``when he walketh in a perplexed way;''
then his wisdom fails him; he does not know which way to take, whether to the right or left: this can never be understood of the highway of holiness, in which men, though fools, shall not err, ( Isaiah 35:8 ) ; and he saith to everyone [that] he [is] a fool;
his folly is manifest to all; he betrays it, by his words and actions, to every man he has to do with; his sins and transgressions, which are his folly, he hides not, they are evident to all; and, as the Targum expresses it,
``all say he is a fool:''
though indeed he himself says this of every other man, that he is a fool; for, according to the Vulgate Latin version, he, being a fool himself, thinks everybody else is so.
FOOTNOTES:

F16 (wbl) "cor ejus", Pagninus, Montanus

Ecclesiastes 10:3 In-Context

1 Dead flies putrefy the perfumer's ointment, And cause it to give off a foul odor; So does a little folly to one respected for wisdom and honor.
2 A wise man's heart is at his right hand, But a fool's heart at his left.
3 Even when a fool walks along the way, He lacks wisdom, And he shows everyone that he is a fool.
4 If the spirit of the ruler rises against you, Do not leave your post; For conciliation pacifies great offenses.
5 There is an evil I have seen under the sun, As an error proceeding from the ruler:
Scripture taken from the New King James Version. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.