Ecclesiastes 10:11

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

Ecclesiastes 10:11 Meaning and Commentary

Ecclesiastes 10:11

Surely the serpent will bite without enchantment
See ( Jeremiah 8:17 ) . Or rather, "without a whisper" ^F20; without hissing, or any noise, giving no warning at all: so the Vulgate Latin version renders it, "in silence"; some serpents bite, others sting, some both; see ( Proverbs 23:32 ) ; some hiss, others not, as here; and a babbler is no better;
a whisperer, a backbiter, a busy tattling body, that goes from house to house, and, in a private manner, speaks evil of civil governments, of ministers of the word, and of other persons; and; in a secret way, defames men, and detracts from their characters: such an one is like a venomous viper, a poisonous serpent or adder; and there is no more guarding against him than against such a creature that bites secretly.

---

FOOTNOTES:

F20 (vxl alb) "absque susurro", Pagniuus; "absque sibilo", Tigurine version.

Ecclesiastes 10:11 In-Context

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

13 initium verborum eius stultitia et novissimum oris illius error pessimus