He who digs a pit may fall into it, and he who breaches a wall may be bitten by a snake.
Parallel translations
- WEB He who digs a pit may fall into it; and whoever breaks through a wall may be bitten by a snake.
- KJV He that diggeth a pit shall fall into it; and whoso breaketh an hedge, a serpent shall bite him.
- NKJV He who digs a pit will fall into it, And whoever breaks through a wall will be bitten by a serpent.
- NASB One who digs a pit may fall into it, and a serpent may bite one who breaks through a wall.
- NLT When you dig a well, you might fall in. When you demolish an old wall, you could be bitten by a snake.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
He who digs a pit may fall into it, and one who breaks a wall may be bitten by a snake. Ordinary actions carry hidden risks, calling for caution.
Overview
Qoheleth offers proverbs noting that even routine work has unforeseen dangers. Some read these as warnings that schemes against others can rebound on the schemer. Either way, they teach humble prudence in a world we cannot fully control, trusting God amid life's uncertainties (Proverbs 26:27; Psalm 7:15).
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 10
- Prov 26:27He who digs a pit will fall into it, and he who rolls a stone will have it roll back on him.
- Ps 7:15–16He has dug a hole and hollowed it out; he has fallen into a pit of his own making.
- Amos 5:19It will be like a man who flees from a lion, only to encounter a bear, or who enters his house and rests his hand against the wall, only to be bitten by a snake.
- Esth 7:10So they hanged Haman on the gallows he had prepared for Mordecai. Then the fury of the king subsided.
- 2 Sam 17:23When Ahithophel saw that his advice had not been followed, he saddled his donkey and set out for his house in his hometown. He put his affairs in order and hanged himself. So he died and was buried in his father’s tomb.
- Amos 9:3Though they hide themselves atop Carmel, there I will track them and seize them; and though they hide from Me at the bottom of the sea, there I will command the serpent to bite them.
- Ps 9:15–16The nations have fallen into a pit of their making; their feet are caught in the net they have hidden.
- Judg 9:53–57But a woman dropped an upper millstone on Abimelech’s head, crushing his skull.
- Judg 9:5He went to his father’s house in Ophrah, and on one stone murdered his seventy brothers, the sons of Jerubbaal. But Jotham, the youngest son of Jerubbaal, survived, because he hid himself.
- 2 Sam 18:15And ten young men who carried Joab’s armor surrounded Absalom, struck him, and killed him.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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Christ at the center
The search that finds everything 'under the sun' to be vapor exposes the emptiness of life without God and drives us to the one who alone gives meaning, the resurrection that makes our labor not in vain.
How Ecclesiastes 10:8 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.