The Importance Of Acting Thoughtfully And With Great Care With Regard To The Affairs Of Life (Ecclesiastes 10:8-11).
‘He who digs a pit will fall into it, and whoever breaks through a fence a poisonous snake will bite him.'
Those who seek to do harm to others may find that their plans rebound on themselves. The schemer often finds himself trapped, or put at a disadvantage, by his own schemes. Vandalism and carelessness with other people's things will bring trouble on the culprit. (Snakes often nest in loose stone walls).
‘He who hews out stones will be hurt by them, and he who chops wood is endangered by it.'
It is important to take proper care when doing something dangerous, for over-familiarity with a something can make us careless. But the deeper idea is that we should not play with fire if we do not want to be burned. We should consider the possible effects of what we do.
‘If the iron is blunt and one does not whet the edge (literally ‘curse before it, curse its face'), then he must put forward more strength. But wisdom is profitable for success.'
We must ensure that we use common sense in what we do. Those who maintain their tools, and keep them sharp where necessary, will find that they serve them better and are easier to use. ‘Whet the edge' is an attempt to make sense of the Hebrew which is literally ‘curse the face' or ‘curse before (it)'. The idea may be that he finds it blunt and curses it before proceeding to sharpen it. (The iron here was the popular metal for tools and weapons. We would use steel).
This applies to any preparation for any task. Good preparation means the task will be made easier, and not cause hardship. Thus wisdom is like sharpened metal, it accomplishes its purpose well because it is sharp and penetrating. Then it is successful.
‘If the snake bites before it is charmed, then there is no advantage in the charmer.'
This has in mind the old snake charmers who were called in to get rid of snakes by use of their enchantments. If the snake has bitten his victim then there is no point in calling the charmer. He should have been called earlier. The thought here is that we should do things while there is still a point to it, and not delay until it is too late.
But it could be translated, ‘Surely the snake will bite where there is no enchantment, and the slanderer is no better.' The point then is that a slanderer is like a snake, which unless dealt with quickly is dangerous.