Ecclesiastes 10:13 New English Translation

¹³At the beginning his words^[a] are foolish
and at the end^[b] his talk^[c] is wicked madness,^[d]

Ecclesiastes 10:13 tn Heb “the words of his mouth.”
Ecclesiastes 10:13 sn 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.”
Ecclesiastes 10:13 tn Heb “his mouth.”
Ecclesiastes 10:13 tn Heb “madness of evil.”

New English Translation (NET)