27 The term “ax head” does not appear in the Hebrew text, but is supplied in the translation for clarity. The preceding noun “iron” functions as a metonymy of material (i.e., iron) for the object with which it is associated (i.e., ax head).
28 Heb “he”; the referent (the workman) is implied, and has been specified in the translation for clarity
29 The verb קלל in the Pilpel means “to sharpen; to make a blade sharp” ( קלל 1). This denominative verb is derived from the rare noun II קָלַל “smooth; shiny” (referring to bronze; Ezek 1:7; Dan 10:6; ). Sharpening the blade or head of a bronze ax will make it smooth and shiny. It is not derived from I קָלַל (qalal) “to treat light” or the noun I קְלָלָה (qélalah) “curse.” Nor is it related to I קָלַל “to shake” (Ezek 21:26); cf. . 886 קָלַל 2 erroneously relates it to I קָלַל, suggesting “to whet” or “to move quickly to and fro.”
30 Heb “face.”
31 Heb “strength.” The term וַחֲיָלִים (vakhayalim, conjunction + plural noun from חַיִל, khayil, “strength; efficiency”) is an example of a plural of intensification ( §124.e). The point is that it is a waste of a great deal of strength and energy. If a person is not smart, he will have to use a lot of energy and waste his efficiency.
32 Heb “without charming.”
33 Heb “the master of the tongue.”
34 Heb “has no profit”; , , “there is no advantage.”
35 Heb “of a wise man’s mouth.”
36 The phrase “win him” does not appear in the Hebrew text, but has been supplied in the translation for clarity.
37 Or “are gracious.” The antithetical parallelism suggests that חֵן (khen) does not denote “gracious character” but “[gain] favor” (e.g., Gen 39:21; Exod 3:21; 11:3; 12:36; Prov 3:4, 34; 13:15; 22:1; 28:23; Eccl 9:11); cf. חֵן 2; 336 חֵן 2. The , on the other hand, rendered חֶן with χάρις (charis, “gracious”). The English versions are divided: “are gracious” (, , , , ) and “win him favor” (, , , , , , ).
38 Heb “lips.”
39 Heb “consume him”; or “engulf him.” The verb I בלע (“to swallow”) creates a striking wordplay on the homonymic root II בלע (“to speak eloquently”; בלע). Rather than speaking eloquently (II בלע, “to speak eloquently”), the fool utters words that are self-destructive (I בלע, “to swallow, engulf”).
40 Heb “the words of his mouth.”
41 The terms “beginning” and “end” form a merism, a figure of speech in which two opposites are contrasted to indicate totality (e.g., Deut 6:7; Ps 139:8; Eccl 3:2–8). The words of a fool are madness from “start to finish.”
42 Heb “his mouth.”
43 Heb “madness of evil.”
44 Heb “and the fool multiplies words.” This line is best taken as the third line of a tricola encompassing 10:13–14a (, , , ) rather than the first line of a tricola encompassing 10:14 (, , , , , ). Several versions capture the sense of this line well: “a fool prates on and on” () and “Yet the fool talks and talks!” ().
45 Heb “after him”; or “after he [dies].”
46 The plural form of הַכְּסִילִים (hakkésilim, from כְּסִיל, késil, “fool”) denotes (1) plural of number: referring to several fools or (2) plural of habitual character or plural of intensity (referring to a single person characterized by a habitual or intense quality of foolishness). The latter is favored because the two verbs in 10:15 are both singular in form: “wearies him” (תְּיַגְּעֶנּוּ, téyaggé’ennu) and “he does [not] know” (לֹא־יָדַע, lo’-yada’); see §135.p. The article on הַכְּסִילִים is used in the generic sense.
47 This line may be interpreted in one of three ways: (1) “the labor of fools wearies him because he did not know enough to go to a town,” referring to the labor of the peasants who had not been able to find a place in town where life was easier; (2) “the labor of the fools so wearies everyone of them (singular pronoun taken in a distributive sense) so much that he even does not know how to go to town,” that is, he does not even know how to do the easiest thing in the world; (3) “let the labor of fools so weary him that he may not even know how to go to town,” taking the verb as a jussive, describing the foolish man described in 10:12–14. See D. Barthélemy, e.d., Preliminary and Interim Report on the Hebrew Old Testament Text Project, 3:592–93.
48 Heb “he does not know to go to the city.”

In other versions

ESVEnglish Standard Version

If the iron is blunt, and one does not sharpen the edge,

he must use more strength,

but wisdom helps one to succeed.

If the serpent bites before it is charmed,

there is no advantage to the charmer.

The words of a wise man’s mouth win him favor,

but the lips of a fool consume him.

The beginning of the words of his mouth is foolishness,

and the end of his talk is evil madness.

A fool multiplies words,

though no man knows what is to be,

and who can tell him what will be after him?

The toil of a fool wearies him,

for he does not know the way to the city.

NIVNew International Version (2011)

If the ax is dull

and its edge unsharpened,

more strength is needed,

but skill will bring success.

If a snake bites before it is charmed,

the charmer receives no fee.

Words from the mouth of the wise are gracious,

but fools are consumed by their own lips.

At the beginning their words are folly;

at the end they are wicked madness—

and fools multiply words.

No one knows what is coming—

who can tell someone else what will happen after them?

The toil of fools wearies them;

they do not know the way to town.

CSBChristian Standard Bible

If the ax is dull, and one does not sharpen its edge,

then one must exert more strength;

however, the advantage of wisdom is that it brings success.

If the snake bites before it is charmed,

then there is no advantage for the charmer.

The words from the mouth of a wise person are gracious,

but the lips of a fool consume him.

The beginning of the words from his mouth is folly,

but the end of his speaking is evil madness;

yet the fool multiplies words.

No one knows what will happen,

and who can tell anyone what will happen after him?

The struggles of fools weary them,

for they don’t know how to go to the city.

NLTNew Living Translation

Using a dull ax requires great strength,

so sharpen the blade.

That’s the value of wisdom;

it helps you succeed.

If a snake bites before you charm it,

what’s the use of being a snake charmer?

Wise words bring approval,

but fools are destroyed by their own words.

Fools base their thoughts on foolish assumptions,

so their conclusions will be wicked madness;

they chatter on and on.

No one really knows what is going to happen;

no one can predict the future.

Fools are so exhausted by a little work

that they can’t even find their way home.

LEBThe Lexham English Bible

If the ax is blunt but one does not sharpen its edge,

he must exert more effort,

but the advantage of wisdom is it brings success.

If the snake bites before the charming,

the snake charmer will not succeed.

The wise man wins favor by the words of his mouth,

but the fool is devoured by his own lips.

He begins by saying what is foolish

and ends by uttering what is wicked delusion.

The fool talks too much,

for no one knows what will be.

Who can tell anyone what will happen in the future?

The fool is so worn out by a hard day’s work

he cannot even find his way home at night.

KJV 1900King James Version

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.

Surely the serpent will bite without enchantment; and a babbler is no better. The words of a wise man’s mouth are gracious; but the lips of a fool will swallow up himself. The beginning of the words of his mouth is foolishness: and the end of his talk is mischievous madness. A fool also is full of words: a man cannot tell what shall be; and what shall be after him, who can tell him? The labour of the foolish wearieth every one of them, because he knoweth not how to go to the city.

Public Domain