Ecclesiastes 10:1–9

1 As dead flies give perfume a bad smell,

so a little folly outweighs wisdom and honor.

2 The heart of the wise inclines to the right,

but the heart of the fool to the left.

3 Even as fools walk along the road,

they lack sense

and show everyone how stupid they are.

4 If a ruler’s anger rises against you,

do not leave your post;

calmness can lay great offenses to rest.

5 There is an evil I have seen under the sun,

the sort of error that arises from a ruler:

6 Fools are put in many high positions,

while the rich occupy the low ones.

7 I have seen slaves on horseback,

while princes go on foot like slaves.

8 Whoever digs a pit may fall into it;

whoever breaks through a wall may be bitten by a snake.

9 Whoever quarries stones may be injured by them;

whoever splits logs may be endangered by them.

1 Dead flies cause the ointment of the apothecary to send forth a stinking savour: so doth a little folly him that is in reputation for wisdom and honour.

2 A wise man’s heart is at his right hand; but a fool’s heart at his left. 3 Yea also, when he that is a fool walketh by the way, his wisdom faileth him, and he saith to every one that he is a fool.

4 If the spirit of the ruler rise up against thee, leave not thy place; for yielding pacifieth great offences.

5 There is an evil which I have seen under the sun, as an error which proceedeth from the ruler: 6 Folly is set in great dignity, and the rich sit in low place. 7 I have seen servants upon horses, and princes walking as servants upon the earth.

8 He that diggeth a pit shall fall into it; and whoso breaketh an hedge, a serpent shall bite him. 9 Whoso removeth stones shall be hurt therewith; and he that cleaveth wood shall be endangered thereby.

1 As dead flies cause even a bottle of perfume to stink,

so a little foolishness spoils great wisdom and honor.

2 A wise person chooses the right road;

a fool takes the wrong one.

3 You can identify fools

just by the way they walk down the street!

4 If your boss is angry at you, don’t quit!

A quiet spirit can overcome even great mistakes.

5 There is another evil I have seen under the sun. Kings and rulers make a grave mistake 6 when they give great authority to foolish people and low positions to people of proven worth. 7 I have even seen servants riding horseback like princes—and princes walking like servants!

8 When you dig a well,

you might fall in.

When you demolish an old wall,

you could be bitten by a snake.

9 When you work in a quarry,

stones might fall and crush you.

When you chop wood,

there is danger with each stroke of your ax.

1 Dead flies putrefy the perfumer’s ointment,

And cause it to give off a foul odor;

So does a little folly to one respected for wisdom and honor.

2 A wise man’s heart is at his right hand,

But a fool’s heart at his left.

3 Even when a fool walks along the way,

He lacks wisdom,

And he shows everyone that he is a fool.

4 If the spirit of the ruler rises against you,

Do not leave your post;

For conciliation pacifies great offenses.

5 There is an evil I have seen under the sun,

As an error proceeding from the ruler:

6 Folly is set in great dignity,

While the rich sit in a lowly place.

7 I have seen servants on horses,

While princes walk on the ground like servants.

8 He who digs a pit will fall into it,

And whoever breaks through a wall will be bitten by a serpent.

9 He who quarries stones may be hurt by them,

And he who splits wood may be endangered by it.

1 Dead flies can make even perfume stink.

In the same way, a little foolishness can spoil wisdom.

2 The heart of the wise leads to right,

but the heart of a fool leads to wrong.

3 Even in the way fools walk along the road,

they show they are not wise;

they show everyone how stupid they are.

4 Don’t leave your job

just because your boss is angry with you.

Remaining calm solves great problems.

5 There is something else wrong that happens here on earth.

It is the kind of mistake rulers make:

6 Fools are given important positions

while gifted people are given lower ones;

7 I have seen servants ride horses

while princes walk like servants on foot.

8 Anyone who digs a pit might fall into it;

anyone who knocks down a wall might be bitten by a snake;

9 anyone who moves boulders might be hurt by them;

and anyone who cuts logs might be harmed by them.

1 Dead flies cause the oil of the perfumer to send forth an evil odor; so doth a little folly outweigh wisdom and honor. 2 A wise man’s heart is at his right hand; but a fool’s heart at his left. 3 Yea also, when the fool walketh by the way, his understanding faileth him, and he saith to every one that he is a fool. 4 If the spirit of the ruler rise up against thee, leave not thy place; for gentleness allayeth great offences.

5 There is an evil which I have seen under the sun, as it were an error which proceedeth from the ruler: 6 folly is set in great dignity, and the rich sit in a low place. 7 I have seen servants upon horses, and princes walking like servants upon the earth.

8 He that diggeth a pit shall fall into it; and whoso breaketh through a wall, a serpent shall bite him. 9 Whoso heweth out stones shall be hurt therewith; and he that cleaveth wood is endangered thereby.

1 Dead flies cause the ointment of the apothecary to stink and ferment; so a little folly is weightier than wisdom and honour. 2 The heart of a wise man is at his right hand; but a fool’s heart at his left. 3 Yea also, when he that is a fool walketh by the way, his sense faileth him, and he saith to every one that he is a fool.

4 If the spirit of the ruler rise up against thee, leave not thy place; for quietness pacifieth great offences. 5 There is an evil that I have seen under the sun, as an error that proceedeth from the ruler: 6 folly is set in great dignities, but the rich sit in a low place. 7 I have seen servants upon horses, and princes walking as servants upon the earth. 8 He that diggeth a pit falleth into it; and whoso breaketh down a hedge, a serpent biteth him. 9 Whoso removeth stones is hurt therewith; he that cleaveth wood is endangered thereby.

1 Dead flies will make a bottle of perfume stink, and then it is spoiled. A little foolishness outweighs wisdom ⸤and⸥ honor. 

2 A wise person’s heart leads the right way. The heart of a fool leads the wrong way. 3 Even when a fool goes walking, he has no sense and shows everyone else that he’s a fool. 

4 If a ruler becomes angry with you, don’t resign your position. If you remain calm, you can make up for serious offenses. 

5 There is a tragedy that I’ve seen under the sun, an error often made by rulers. 6 Foolish people are often given high positions, and rich people are left to fill lower positions. 7 I have seen slaves sitting on horses and influential people going on foot like slaves. 

8 Whoever digs a pit may fall into it. Whoever breaks through a stone wall may be bitten by a snake. 9 Whoever works in a stone quarry may get hurt. Whoever splits wood may be injured. 

1 Dead flies make a perfumer’s oil ferment and stink;

so a little folly outweighs wisdom and honor.

2 A wise man’s heart goes to the right,

but a fool’s heart to the left.

3 Even when the fool walks along the road, his heart lacks sense,

and he shows everyone he is a fool.

4 If the ruler’s anger rises against you, don’t leave your place,

for calmness puts great offenses to rest.

5 There is an evil I have seen under the sun, an error proceeding from the presence of the ruler:

6 The fool is appointed to great heights,

but the rich remain in lowly positions.

7 I have seen slaves on horses,

but princes walking on the ground like slaves.

8 The one who digs a pit may fall into it,

and the one who breaks through a wall may be bitten by a snake.

9 The one who quarries stones may be hurt by them;

the one who splits trees may be endangered by them.

1 Dead flies make the perfumer’s ointment give off a foul odor;

so a little folly outweighs wisdom and honor.

2 The heart of the wise inclines to the right,

but the heart of a fool to the left.

3 Even when fools walk on the road, they lack sense

and show to everyone that they are fools.

4 If the anger of the ruler rises against you, do not leave your post,

for calmness will undo great offenses.

5 There is an evil that I have seen under the sun, as great an error as if it proceeded from the ruler: 6 folly is set in many high places, and the rich sit in a low place. 7 I have seen slaves on horseback and princes walking on the ground like slaves.

8 Whoever digs a pit will fall into it,

and whoever breaks through a wall will be bitten by a snake.

9 Whoever quarries stones will be hurt by them,

and whoever splits logs will be endangered by them.

1 Dead flies cause a bad smell and ruin the ointment of the perfumer.

So also a little folly outweighs wisdom and honor.

2 The heart of the wise inclines to his right,

but the heart of the fool inclines to his left.

3 Even when the fool walks along the road, he lacks sense;

he tells everyone that he is a fool.

4 If the anger of the ruler rises against you,

do not leave your post,

for calmness can undo great offenses.

5 There is an evil I have seen under the sun—

it is an error that proceeds from a ruler!

6 The fool is set in many high places,

but the rich sit in lowly places.

7 I have even seen slaves riding on horses

and princes walking like slaves on the earth!

8 Whoever digs a pit will fall into it.

Whoever breaks through a wall, a snake will bite him.

9 Whoever quarries stones will be wounded by them.

Whoever splits logs will be endangered by them.

1 Dead flies give perfume a bad smell.

And a little foolishness can make a lot of wisdom useless.

2 The hearts of wise people lead them on the right path.

But the hearts of foolish people take them down the wrong path.

3 A foolish person doesn’t have any sense at all.

He shows everyone he is foolish.

He does it even when he is walking along the road.

4 Suppose a ruler gets very angry with you.

If he does, don’t quit your job in the palace.

Stay calm. That will overcome the effects of your big mistakes.

5 Here’s something evil I’ve seen on this earth.

And it’s the kind of mistake that rulers make.

6 Foolish people are given many important jobs.

Rich people are given unimportant ones.

7 I’ve seen slaves on horseback.

I’ve also seen princes who were forced to walk as if they were slaves.

8 Anyone who digs a pit might fall into it.

Anyone who breaks through a wall might be bitten by a snake.

9 Anyone who removes stones from rock pits might get hurt.

Anyone who cuts logs might get wounded.

1 Dead flies make a perfumer’s oil stink, so a little foolishness is weightier than wisdom and honor.

2 A wise man’s heart directs him toward the right, but the foolish man’s heart directs him toward the left.

3 Even when the fool walks along the road, his sense is lacking and he demonstrates to everyone that he is a fool.

4 If the ruler’s temper rises against you, do not abandon your position, because composure allays great offenses.

5 There is an evil I have seen under the sun, like an error which goes forth from the ruler—

6 folly is set in many exalted places while rich men sit in humble places.

7 I have seen slaves riding on horses and princes walking like slaves on the land.

8 He who digs a pit may fall into it, and a serpent may bite him who breaks through a wall.

9 He who quarries stones may be hurt by them, and he who splits logs may be endangered by them.