Ecclesiastes 10:13
New International Version
At the beginning their words are folly; at the end they are wicked madness—

New Living Translation
Fools base their thoughts on foolish assumptions, so their conclusions will be wicked madness;

English Standard Version
The beginning of the words of his mouth is foolishness, and the end of his talk is evil madness.

Berean Standard Bible
The beginning of his talk is folly, and the end of his speech is evil madness.

King James Bible
The beginning of the words of his mouth is foolishness: and the end of his talk is mischievous madness.

New King James Version
The words of his mouth begin with foolishness, And the end of his talk is raving madness.

New American Standard Bible
the beginning of his talking is foolishness, and the end of it is evil insanity.

NASB 1995
the beginning of his talking is folly and the end of it is wicked madness.

NASB 1977
the beginning of his talking is folly, and the end of it is wicked madness.

Legacy Standard Bible
the beginning of the words of his mouth is simpleminded folly, and the end of what comes from his mouth is evil madness.

Amplified Bible
the beginning of his talking is foolishness and the end of his talk is wicked madness.

Christian Standard Bible
The beginning of the words from his mouth is folly, but the end of his speaking is evil madness;

Holman Christian Standard Bible
The beginning of the words of his mouth is folly, but the end of his speaking is evil madness.

American Standard Version
The beginning of the words of his mouth is foolishness; and the end of his talk is mischievous madness.

Aramaic Bible in Plain English
The beginning of the words of his mouth is foolishness, and the end of his mouth is evil shame

Brenton Septuagint Translation
The beginning of the words of his mouth is folly: and the end of his talk mischievous madness.

Contemporary English Version
Fools begin with nonsense, and their stupid chatter ends with disaster.

Douay-Rheims Bible
The beginning of his words is folly, and the end of his talk is a mischievous error.

English Revised Version
The beginning of the words of his mouth is foolishness: and the end of his talk is mischievous madness.

GOD'S WORD® Translation
A fool starts out by talking foolishness and ends up saying crazy things that are dangerous.

Good News Translation
They start out with silly talk and end up with pure madness.

International Standard Version
He begins his speech with foolishness, and concludes it with evil madness.

JPS Tanakh 1917
The beginning of the words of his mouth is foolishness; And the end of his talk is grievous madness.

Literal Standard Version
The beginning of the words of his mouth [is] folly, | And the latter end of his mouth | [Is] mischievous madness.

Majority Standard Bible
The beginning of his talk is folly, and the end of his speech is evil madness.

New American Bible
The beginning of their words is folly, and the end of their talk is utter madness;

NET Bible
At the beginning his words are foolish and at the end his talk is wicked madness,

New Revised Standard Version
The words of their mouths begin in foolishness, and their talk ends in wicked madness;

New Heart English Bible
The beginning of the words of his mouth is foolishness; and the end of his talk is mischievous madness.

Webster's Bible Translation
The beginning of the words of his mouth is foolishness: and the end of his talk is mischievous madness.

World English Bible
The beginning of the words of his mouth is foolishness; and the end of his talk is mischievous madness.

Young's Literal Translation
The beginning of the words of his mouth is folly, And the latter end of his mouth Is mischievous madness.

Additional Translations ...
Audio Bible



Context
Wisdom and Folly
12The words of a wise man’s mouth are gracious, but the lips of a fool consume him. 13The beginning of his talk is folly, and the end of his speech is evil madness. 14Yet the fool multiplies words. No one knows what is coming, and who can tell him what will come after him?…

Cross References
Ecclesiastes 7:25
I directed my mind to understand, to explore, to search out wisdom and explanations, and to understand the stupidity of wickedness and the folly of madness.

Ecclesiastes 10:14
Yet the fool multiplies words. No one knows what is coming, and who can tell him what will come after him?


Treasury of Scripture

The beginning of the words of his mouth is foolishness: and the end of his talk is mischievous madness.

beginning

Judges 14:15
And it came to pass on the seventh day, that they said unto Samson's wife, Entice thy husband, that he may declare unto us the riddle, lest we burn thee and thy father's house with fire: have ye called us to take that we have? is it not so?

1 Samuel 20:26-33
Nevertheless Saul spake not any thing that day: for he thought, Something hath befallen him, he is not clean; surely he is not clean…

1 Samuel 22:7,8,16-18
Then Saul said unto his servants that stood about him, Hear now, ye Benjamites; will the son of Jesse give every one of you fields and vineyards, and make you all captains of thousands, and captains of hundreds; …

Jump to Previous
Beginning Crime End Evil First Folly Foolish Foolishness Grievous Latter Madness Mischievous Mouth Talk Talking Wicked Words
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Beginning Crime End Evil First Folly Foolish Foolishness Grievous Latter Madness Mischievous Mouth Talk Talking Wicked Words
Ecclesiastes 10
1. observations of wisdom and folly
7. death in life
9. and the day of judgment in the days of youth, are to be thought on














Verse 13. - The beginning of the words of his mouth is foolishness. A confirmation of the last clause of the preceding verse. The fool speaks according to his nature. "As saith the proverb of the ancients, Out of the wicked cometh forth wickedness" (1 Samuel 24:13; cutup. Proverbs 15:2; Isaiah 32:6). As soon as he opens his month he utters folly, unwisdom, silliness. But he does not stop there. The end of his talk is mischievous madness. By the time he has finished, he has committed himself to statements that are worse than silly, that are presumptuous, frenzied, indicative of mental and moral depravity. Intemperate language about the secrets of God's providence and the moral government of the world may be intended. Some think that the writer is still alluding to dangerous talk concerning a tyrannical ruler, seditious proposals, secret conspiracies, etc. The text itself does not confirm such notion with any certainty.

Parallel Commentaries ...


Hebrew
The beginning
תְּחִלַּ֥ת (tə·ḥil·laṯ)
Noun - feminine singular construct
Strong's 8462: A commencement, rel, original

of his talk
דִּבְרֵי־ (diḇ·rê-)
Noun - masculine plural construct
Strong's 1697: A word, a matter, thing, a cause

is folly,
סִכְל֑וּת (siḵ·lūṯ)
Noun - feminine singular
Strong's 5531: Silliness

and the end
וְאַחֲרִ֣ית (wə·’a·ḥă·rîṯ)
Conjunctive waw | Noun - feminine singular construct
Strong's 319: The last, end, the future, posterity

of his speech
פִּ֔יהוּ (pî·hū)
Noun - masculine singular construct | third person masculine singular
Strong's 6310: The mouth, edge, portion, side, according to

is evil
רָעָֽה׃ (rā·‘āh)
Adjective - feminine singular
Strong's 7451: Bad, evil

madness.
הוֹלֵל֖וּת (hō·w·lê·lūṯ)
Noun - feminine singular
Strong's 1948: Madness


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OT Poetry: Ecclesiastes 10:13 The beginning of the words of his (Ecclesiast. Ec Ecc Eccles.)
Ecclesiastes 10:12
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