Ecclesiastes 10:10

10 si retunsum fuerit ferrum et hoc non ut prius sed hebetatum erit multo labore exacuatur et post industriam sequitur sapientia

Ecclesiastes 10:10 Meaning and Commentary

Ecclesiastes 10:10

If the iron be blunt
With which a man cleaves wood: the axe, made of iron: and he do not whet the edge;
with some proper instrument to make it sharper, that it may cut the more easily; then must he put to more strength;
he must give a greater blow, strike the harder, and use more force; and yet it may not be sufficient, or; it may be to no purpose, and he himself may be in the greatest danger of being hurt; as such are who push things with all their might and main, without judgment and discretion; but wisdom [is] profitable to direct;
this is the "excellency" of wisdom, that it puts a man in the right way of doing things, and of doing them right; it directs him to take the best methods, and pursue the best ways and means of doing things, both for his own good and the good of others; and so it is better than strength, ( Ecclesiastes 9:16 Ecclesiastes 9:18 ) .

Ecclesiastes 10:10 In-Context

8 qui fodit foveam incidet in eam et qui dissipat sepem mordebit eum coluber

9 qui transfert lapides adfligetur in eis et qui scindit ligna vulnerabitur ab eis

10 si retunsum fuerit ferrum et hoc non ut prius sed hebetatum erit multo labore exacuatur et post industriam sequitur sapientia

11 si mordeat serpens in silentio nihil eo minus habet qui occulte detrahit

12 verba oris sapientis gratia et labia insipientis praecipitabunt eum