Ecclesiastes 10:9

Whoso removeth stones shall be hurt therewith,.... That carries them from the quarry, where they are dug; or takes them from a heap, where they lie; or that attempts to pull them out of a building,

Whoso removeth stones shall be hurt therewith; and he that cleaveth wood shall be endangered thereby. Whoso removeth stones - namely, of an ancient building, or his neighbour's landmarks, or from the quarry.

Whoso removeth stones; either, 1. The stones which belong to others, and limit or distinguish their grounds, of which see . Or, 2. Great stones too heavy for them; which rashly attempt things too high and hard for them; which seems better to agree with the following clause than the former interpretation doth. Shall be hurt therewith; may easily receive hurt by the stones falling unexpectedly and violently upon him. He that cleaveth wood, with an iron instrument, as the manner is, he being unskilful in that art. Possibly he designs a man who causeth discord and mischief among friends, or in a family, or kingdom. Shall be endangered thereby; may peradventure cut himself.

Ecclesiastes 10:9 Whoso removeth stones shall be hurt therewith; [and] he that cleaveth wood shall be endangered thereby.Ver. 9. Whoso removeth stones shall be hurt therewith.] So he that attempteth to loose and remove the joints and pieces of a settled government, there is danger that, like Samson, he will be crushed in the ruin. So one gives the sense of it: He that goeth about to remove a ruler out of his place, and to divide a settled government that is at unity in itself, undertaketh a dangerous piece of business. As he undertaketh a desperate work, such shall his reward be. It is evil meddling with edged tools, &c., saith another interpreter. Some by "stones" here understand landmarks, which to remove was counted sacrilege among the Romans, and worthy of death. What are they guilty and worthy of, then, that abrogate the good old laws of a land, or the good old ways of God, that have given rest to so many souls? And he that cleaveth wood shall be in danger thereby,] viz., Of breaking his tools, if not his shins, especially if he be a bungler at it. This is to the same sense with the three former similitudes. Cyprian makes use of this text against schismatics, reading it thus: Scindens ligna periclitabitur in eo si exciderit ferrum, He that cleaveth wood shall be endangered thereby, if that the iron fall off. Jerome by "wood" here understands heretics, as being unfruitful and unfit for God’ s building, and makes this note upon it, Quamvis sit prudens et doctus vir, &c. Although he be a wise and a learned man, who with the sword of his discourse cutteth this knotty wood, he will be endangered by it, unless he be very careful. Pemble. Granger. Dion. Halic. Test. ad Quirinum., lib. Jerome, in loc.

(9) Removeth.—The nearest parallel Isaiah 1 Kings 5:17, where the word is used with regard to the quarryings, not the removing of stones. For the latter sense, however, there is countenance in 2 Kings 4:4, where the word is translated “set aside.” Cleaveth wood.—Or, cutteth down trees, an operation not free from danger (Deuteronomy 19:5).

Verse 9. Whoso removeth stones] This verse teaches care and caution. Whoever pulls down an old building is likely to be hurt by the stones; and in cleaving wood many accidents occur for want of sufficient caution.

9. Whoso removeth stones shall be hurt therewith] The words are referred by some commentators to an act like that of the previous verse, by others to hewing stone in the quarry. In the former case, however, we get but a tame repetition, in the latter there is nothing in the act that deserves retribution. We get a more natural meaning, if we think of the curse pronounced on him who “removes his neighbour’s landmark” (Deuteronomy 19:14; Deuteronomy 27:17). Such landmarks often consisted of cairns or heaps of stones, as in Genesis 31:46-48, or a pillar, and the act of removing it would be one of wrongful aggression. For the stone to fall on a man so acting would be once more an instance of the Nemesis which is presented in these similitudes. he that cleaveth wood shall be endangered thereby] Better, “he that cleaveth trees or logs,” as in Genesis 1:11; Genesis 2:16; Genesis 23:16; Isaiah 40:20, and elsewhere. Here again the proverb seems to have a double edge. (1) On the one hand it might seem that an act of unjust aggression is contemplated. The special sacredness of trees as standing above most other forms of property is recognised in Deuteronomy 20:19-20, and the frequency of accidents in the process was provided for by the special legislation (Deuteronomy 19:5), which exempted from penalty one who in this way was the involuntary cause of his neighbour’s death. The primary thought in the saying, so taken, is, as before, that retribution comes on the evil-doer out of the very deed of evil. Out of our “pleasant vices” the gods “make whips to scourge us.” The attack on sacred and time-honoured institutions is not without peril. (2) On the other hand, eastern as well as western thought recognises in decayed trees the types of corrupt institutions that need to be reformed, and, as in the last proverb, the work of the reformer is not always a safe or easy one. Popular political rhetoric has made us familiar both with the appeal to “spare the tree” under the shadow of whose branches our fathers lived, and with that which bids men lop branch after branch from the “deadly Upas” of oppression and iniquity, especially of corrupt kingdoms (Isaiah 14:8; Jeremiah 51:15; Ezekiel 34:3; Daniel 9:10; Daniel 9:14; Matthew 3:10; Luke 13:7; Luke 13:9).

9. Whoso removeth stones — This removing of stones is probably to be referred to the tearing down of buildings, etc., which is always attended with some danger.