Ecclesiastes chapter 10

vs 1

Another group of proverbial wisdom statements. We start with a statement that shows how, if you thought wisdom was powerful from the last chapter, folly is strong to defeat it, at least from within. Foolishness is like the termite of wisdom's wood. Remember that foolishness isn't just stupidity, or even a misunderstanding of how the world works. It is a misunderstanding of how God makes things work. So when you see a really smart, successful non-Christian make a career in politics, only to screw it up by having an affair, that is a classic example of the rot of folly. Even if he doesn't get caught, it will eat away.

vs 2

This is not a political statement, but damn it that it is so easy to use against socialists. Heh.

vs 3

I suppose just because they do one right thing, like walk along the road, doesn't mean that they are wise. Fools find ways of doing correct things foolishly.

vs 4

Compounding errors never helps. Even if you haven't done anything wrong, or especially so, there is no point then doing something wrong in an attempt to escape ire.

vs 5

And now we see another evil under the sun. This time it is a top down problem. Wisdom and leadership are no more linked than foolishness and youth, remember.

vs 6

No, he really does mean rich. Verse 7 makes that clear. I'm not actually sure what his point is, though. I mean, I could make up some logical stuff to explain it, but I feel it would be eisegetical. I don't know what was going on at this time for him to say this.

vs 7

I don't think this can be so easily read as to be referring to some idea that some people are born into legitimate rulership. That just doesn't seem to gel with what he says about cities putting people in charge who are wise etc earlier on.

vs 8-9

The thing about these little proverbs is that I don't think there is anything wrong with doing this work. He is simply observing that doing work can cause injury. It's just a way of life.

vs 10

I think this proverb is saying that while a sharpened axe is of some value, a really sharp axe in the hands of someone who doesn't know what to do with it is of little value. To use more modern terms, a pocket knife isn't as good as a scalpel, but a surgeon with a pocket knife is a hell of a lot more useful than a plumber with a scalpel, if your appendix needs to come out.