X. (1.) Flies of death (זבוב, occurs Isaiah vii. 18 only, as an emblem of the Egyptian plague) cause to stink (singular, i.e. a single blow-fly out of many will do this, see Proverbs xiii. 5 for the only other instance of future hiphil), and cause to belch out (Psalms lix. 7, Proverbs xv. 2, i.e. with putrefaction) the oil (see [chapter vii. 1]) of the apothecary. Precious more than wisdom more than honour (i.e. and more than honour also), follies (but observe סכלות, elaborate follies or false prudence, chapter ii. 3), a little (distributive singular, one out of many such. The LXX. render τίμιον ὀλίγον σοφίας ὑπὲρ δόξαν ἀφροσύνης μεγάλην, ‘and a little wisdom is more precious than great glory of folly.’ The objection to this rendering of the LXX. is that they displace, quite contrary to their usual custom, ‘a little,’ which comes at the end of the sentence, a difficulty which D. F. X. palliate by reading μεγάλης——‘than the glory of great folly.’ The Syriac reads, ‘so a little folly is more weighty than wisdom and great glory.’ Symmachus reads, κἂν μικρά, ‘even if a little.’ On the whole, however, and remembering the meaning of סכלות, which is a perverse or false wisdom, the text as it stands makes very good sense: ‘A single blow-fly will corrupt and make ferment the [carefully prepared] oil of the apothecary; so more precious than wisdom or honour, even is a little one out of the many perverse follies,’ i.e. this perverse kind of wisdom will destroy a reputation for intellect and probity, and that also even when the gain proposed is but a small matter, and will cause the subject of it to sacrifice prudence and reputation for the sake of some whim which he knows is not worth having).
2 A wise man’s heart is at his right hand; but a fool’s heart at his left.
The heart of the wise man is at his right hand, but the heart of a foolish one is at his left hand.
(2.) The heart of a wise man is at his right, but the heart of a foolish one is at his left (the heart is really at the left side, but this is the natural heart. Heart is however to be understood not as meaning the understanding, but moral sentiments, which is its metaphorical signification in this book).
3 Yea also, when he that is a fool walketh by the way, his [¹]wisdom faileth him, and he saith to every one that he is a fool.
[¹] Hebrew his heart.
And also in the way, like the wise fool he is, out of heart he walks, and says to all, What elaborate folly this is!