Ecclesiastes 10

¹10Dead flies in perfume make it stink,

And a little foolishness decomposes much wisdom.

²Wise thinking leads to right living;

Stupid thinking leads to wrong living.

³Fools on the road have no sense of direction.

The way they walk tells the story: “There goes the fool again!”

⁴If a ruler loses his temper against you, don’t panic;

A calm disposition quiets intemperate rage.

^5–7Here’s a piece of bad business I’ve seen on this earth,

An error that can be blamed on whoever is in charge:

Immaturity is given a place of prominence,

While maturity is made to take a backseat.

I’ve seen unproven upstarts riding in style,

While experienced veterans are put out to pasture.

⁸Caution: The trap you set might catch you.

Warning: Your accomplice in crime might double-cross you.

⁹Safety first: Quarrying stones is dangerous.

Be alert: Felling trees is hazardous.

¹⁰Remember: The duller the ax the harder the work;

Use your head: The more brains, the less muscle.

¹¹If the snake bites before it’s been charmed,

What’s the point in then sending for the charmer?

^12–13The words of a wise person are gracious.

The talk of a fool self-destructs—

He starts out talking nonsense

And ends up spouting insanity and evil.

¹⁴Fools talk way too much,

Chattering stuff they know nothing about.

¹⁵A decent day’s work so fatigues fools

That they can’t find their way back to town.

^16–17Unlucky the land whose king is a young pup,

And whose princes party all night.

Lucky the land whose king is mature,

Where the princes behave themselves

And don’t drink themselves silly.

¹⁸A shiftless man lives in a tumbledown shack;

A lazy woman ends up with a leaky roof.

¹⁹Laughter and bread go together,

And wine gives sparkle to life—

But it’s money that makes the world go around.

²⁰Don’t bad-mouth your leaders, not even under your breath,

And don’t abuse your betters, even in the privacy of your home.

Loose talk has a way of getting picked up and spread around.

Little birds drop the crumbs of your gossip far and wide.