John Gill Commentary Ecclesiastes 10:11

"If the serpent bite before it is charmed, then is there no advantage in the charmer." — Ecclesiastes 10:11 (ASV)

Surely the serpent will bite without enchantment
See (Jeremiah 8:17) . Or rather, "without a whisper" ^F20 ; without hissing, or any noise, giving no warning at all: so the Vulgate Latin version renders it, "in silence"; some serpents bite, others sting, some both; see (Proverbs 23:32) ; some hiss, others not, as here; and a babbler is no better ;
a whisperer, a backbiter, a busy tattling body, that goes from house to house, and, in a private manner, speaks evil of civil governments, of ministers of the word, and of other persons; and; in a secret way, defames men, and detracts from their characters: such an one is like a venomous viper, a poisonous serpent or adder; and there is no more guarding against him than against such a creature that bites secretly.

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FOOTNOTES:

• F20: (vxl alb) "absque susurro", Pagniuus; "absque sibilo", Tigurine version.