The heart of the wise is at his right hand, but the heart of the stupid at his left hand (Ecclesiastes 10:2,3)

5 min readAug 4, 2024

Ecclesiastes chapter 10: It is a series of proverbial sentences, which we will bring out some interesting points:

Dead flies are what cause the oil of the ointment maker to stink, to bubble forth. So a little foolishness does to one who is precious for wisdom and glory.
2The heart of the wise is at his right hand, but the heart of the stupid at his left hand. 3And also in whatever way the foolish one is walking, his own heart is lacking, and he certainly says to everybody that he is foolish.
4If the spirit of a ruler should mount up against you, do not leave your own place, for calmness itself allays great sins.
5There exists something calamitous that I have seen under the sun, as when there is a mistake going forth on account of the one in power: 6Foolishness has been put in many high positions, but the rich ones themselves keep dwelling merely in a low condition.
7I have seen servants on horses but princes walking on the earth just like servants.
8He that is digging a pit will himself fall right into it; and he that is breaking through a stone wall, a serpent will bite him.
9He that is quarrying out stones will hurt himself with them. He that is splitting logs will have to be careful with them.
10If an iron tool has become blunt and someone has not whetted its edge, then he will exert his own vital energies. So the using of wisdom to success means advantage.
11If the serpent bites when no charming results, then there is no advantage to the one indulging in the tongue.
12The words of the mouth of the wise one mean favor, but the lips of the stupid one swallow him up. 13The start of the words of his mouth is foolishness, and the end afterward of his mouth is calamitous madness. 14And the foolish one speaks many words.
Man does not know what will come to be; and that which will come to be after him, who can tell him?
15The hard work of the stupid ones makes them weary, because not one has come to know how to go to the city.
16How will it be with you, O land, when your king is a boy and your own princes keep eating even in the morning? 17Happy are you, O land, when your king is the son of noble ones and your own princes eat at the proper time for mightiness, not for mere drinking.
18Through great laziness the beamwork sinks in, and through the letting down of the hands the house leaks.
19Bread is for the laughter of the workers, and wine itself makes life rejoice; but money is what meets a response in all things.
20Even in your bedroom do not call down evil upon the king himself, and in the interior rooms where you lie down do not call down evil upon anyone rich; for a flying creature of the heavens will convey the sound and something owning wings will tell the matter.

“The heart of the wise is at his right hand, but the heart of the stupid at his left hand. 3 And also in whatever way the foolish one is walking, his own heart is lacking, and he certainly says to everybody that he is foolish” (Ecclesiastes 10:2,3). The verse three seems to give the meaning of the verse two. The heart, the right and the left, are symbolic. The heart symbolizes, in this context, the ability to take good or bad decisions. The left seems to symbolize stupidity or clumsiness. Generally, humans are right-handed, and the right side can mean what is accomplished with skill and wisdom. While things done with the left hand can be done awkwardly. In another biblical context, Jesus Christ symbolized the right by God approval, and the left, by the position of disapproval, in the illustration of sheep and goats (Matthew 25:31–46).

“I have seen servants on horses but princes walking on the earth just like servants” (Ecclesiastes 10:7). Often, in this system of things, it can have an inversion of values (Isaiah 5:20). A human with a great spiritual integrity, with noble feelings, like a prince, can be treated as a simple servant and with contempt. In the other hand, there are humans only able of being servants, without noble feelings, sometimes have a high rank and are seen as princes. This is a bit of repetition, in another form, of what it is written in Ecclesiastes 7:15 and 8:14.

“Even in your bedroom do not call down evil upon the king himself, and in the interior rooms where you lie down do not call down evil upon anyone rich; for a flying creature of the heavens will convey the sound and something owning wings will tell the matter” (Ecclesiastes 10:20). In most cases, confidential things, over time, end up being known, as Jesus Christ said: “For there is nothing hidden that will not become manifest, neither anything carefully concealed that will never become known and never come into the open” (Luke 8:17).

THE SPIRITUAL MAN (Existential meditation on the biblical book of Ecclesiastes):

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The Promise of God. The complete explanation of Genesis 3:15.

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