Ecclesiastes 10:8-11

Improper timing can also nullify wisdom. Four different situations illustrate the fact that though wisdom is valuable in a variety of everyday tasks (Ecclesiastes 10:8-10), one can lose its advantage if the timing is not right (Ecclesiastes 10:11).

"The sum of these four clauses [in Ecclesiastes 10:8-9] is certainly not merely that he who undertakes a dangerous matter exposes himself to danger; the author means to say, in this series of proverbs which treat of the distinction between wisdom and folly, that the wise man is everywhere conscious of his danger, and guards against it." [Note: Delitzsch, p. 379.]