Ecclesiastes 10:12 — Bible Verse (KJV)

“The words of a wise man’s mouth are gracious; but the lips of a fool will swallow up himself.”

Ecclesiastes 10:12 — King James Version (KJV), 1611

Ecclesiastes 10:12 in 6 Bible Translations

Read Ecclesiastes 10:12 in the King James Version (KJV) and 5 other free, public-domain translations side by side.

Ecclesiastes 10:12 WEB — World English Bible (2000)

“The words of a wise man’s mouth are gracious; but a fool is swallowed by his own lips.”

Ecclesiastes 10:12 — World English Bible

Ecclesiastes 10:12 ASV — American Standard Version (1901)

“The words of a wise man’s mouth are gracious; but the lips of a fool will swallow up himself.”

Ecclesiastes 10:12 — American Standard Version

Ecclesiastes 10:12 YLT — Young's Literal Translation (1862)

“Words of the mouth of the wise <FI>are<Fi> gracious, And the lips of a fool swallow him up.”

Ecclesiastes 10:12 — Young's Literal Translation

Ecclesiastes 10:12 DBY — Darby Translation (1890)

“The words of a wise man's mouth are gracious; but the lips of a fool swallow up himself.”

Ecclesiastes 10:12 — Darby Translation

Ecclesiastes 10:12 GEN — Geneva Bible (1599)

“The words of ye mouth of a wise man haue grace: but the lippes of a foole deuoure himselfe.”

Ecclesiastes 10:12 — Geneva Bible

Ecclesiastes 10:12 in Context — Ecclesiastes 10

10 If the iron be blunt, and he do not whet the edge, then must he put to more strength: but wisdom is profitable to direct.

11 Surely the serpent will bite without enchantment; and a babbler is no better.

12 The words of a wise man’s mouth are gracious; but the lips of a fool will swallow up himself.

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

14 A fool also is full of words: a man cannot tell what shall be; and what shall be after him, who can tell him?

Read the full chapter: Ecclesiastes 10 — Everyone Who Calls on the Name of the Lord →

What Does Ecclesiastes 10:12 Mean?

Ecclesiastes 10:12 is a verse from the Book of Ecclesiastes, part of the Old Testament. It appears in Ecclesiastes chapter 10. Use The Living Sword's word-by-word study mode to explore every word in the original Hebrew and Aramaic.

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