भाष्य सध्या फक्त इंग्रजीत उपलब्ध आहे. मराठी भाषांतर प्रगतीपथावर आहे.
Ecclesiastes 10 — Dead Flies Cause the Ointment to Send Forth a Stinking Savour
Dead flies cause the ointment of the apothecary to send forth a stinking savour: so doth a little folly him that is in reputation for wisdom and honour. A wise man's heart is at his right hand; but a fool's heart at his left. If the iron be blunt, and he do not whet the edge, then must he put to more strength. Curse not the king, no not in thy thought. In the multitude of words there wanteth not sin. By much slothfulness the building decayeth; and through idleness of the hands the house droppeth through.
“Dead flies cause the ointment of the apothecary to send forth a stinking savour: so doth a little folly him that is in reputation for wisdom and honour.”
— Ecclesiastes 10:1
- v.1-7 Folly's small ruin
- v.8-15 Practical wisdom
- v.16-20 Slothfulness and speech
Sharpen the tool. Brute effort with a dull edge is wasted; wise preparation multiplies the result.
A check on busy inefficiency. Work smarter, the verse says, before you work harder.
Verse 1 polices the small choices. The dead flies are usually individually trivial. Cumulative wisdom is undone by individually small foolishness. Watch the small.
Christ — the wisdom of God (1 Corinthians 1:24) — never had the dead flies. The chapter's warnings find their cure in the One whose wisdom is unmixed with folly.
A small bug ruins the perfume; a small folly ruins a reputation. The cost-to-damage ratio is dramatic.
A warning. Years of wisdom can be undone by one foolish act. Guard the small choices.