8 He who digs a pit may fall into it, and a serpent may bite him who breaks through a wall. 9 He who quarries stones may be hurt by them, and he who splits logs may be endangered by them. 10 If the [d]axe is dull and he does not sharpen its edge, then he must [e]exert more strength. Wisdom has the advantage of giving success. 11 If the serpent bites [f]before being charmed, there is no profit for the charmer. 12 Words from the mouth of a wise man are gracious, while the lips of a fool consume him; 13 the beginning of [g]his talking is folly and the end of [h]it is wicked madness. 14 Yet the fool multiplies words. No man knows what will happen, and who can tell him what will come after him? 15 The toil of [i]a fool so wearies him that he does not even know how to go to a city. 16 Woe to you, O land, whose king is a lad and whose princes [j]feast in the morning. 17 Blessed are you, O land, whose king is of nobility and whose princes eat at the appropriate time—for strength and not for drunkenness. 18 Through indolence the rafters sag, and through slackness the house leaks. 19 Men prepare a meal for enjoyment, and wine makes life merry, and money [k]is the answer to everything. 20 Furthermore, in your bedchamber do not curse a king, and in your sleeping rooms do not curse a rich man, for a bird of the heavens will carry the sound and the winged creature will make the matter known.
There seem to be two themes here that are interwoven. We first have the pitfalls (pun intended) of work: the pit, the serpent, stones, and logs. There is danger in all these things, so one must be wise in order to avoid injury. It isn’t as if you can just take an axe and just start swinging, expecting to become the best lumberjack. And in this day, an axe is hardly enough anyway. There are better tools, though they can carry more risk and danger.
Then Solomon launches into the words of a fool, and folks eating at the wrong time, rafters, and leaky roofs. Yet there is a common thread, that all of these things are necessary, even the money in v. 19. These are not evil things, no more than the words we utter. But use them without wisdom, and you will see the fulfillment of v. 13, folly and madness.
Even worse, should you let your tongue get away from you, like Solomon illustrates in v. 20, there is no telling what the end might be. Our words have immense power, just as the tools we use for our daily trade, and more so. We need God’s wisdom to tame them, and use them for good and not just to please our own desires.
In all your endeavors, ask God for wisdom, and for protection. “No man knows what will happen… or what will come after him…” But God does, and as James wrote, “if any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all generously and without reproach, and it will be given to him.” We should not step lightly into anything, but let God’s wisdom guide our hands, our hearts, and our minds in all we do.