Ecclesiastes 10:1–11:10

A Little Foolishness

1 Dead flies make a aperfumer’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 aman’s heart directs him toward the left.

3 Even when the fool walks along the road, his 1sense is lacking and he 2ademonstrates to everyone that he is a fool.

4 If the ruler’s 1temper rises against you, ado not abandon your position, because bcomposure allays great offenses.

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

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

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

8 aHe who digs a pit may fall into it, and a bserpent 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.

10 If the 1axe is dull and he does not sharpen its edge, then he must 2exert more strength. Wisdom has the advantage of giving success.

11 If the serpent bites 1abefore being charmed, there is no profit for the charmer.

12 aWords from the mouth of a wise man are gracious, while the lips of a bfool consume him;

13 the beginning of 1his talking is folly and the end of 2it is wicked amadness.

14 Yet the afool multiplies words. No man knows what will happen, and who can tell him bwhat will come after him?

15 The toil of 1a fool so wearies him that he does not even know how to go to a city.

16 Woe to you, O land, whose aking is a lad and whose princes 1feast in the morning.

17 Blessed are you, O land, whose king is of nobility and whose princes eat at the appropriate time—for strength and not for adrunkenness.

18 Through aindolence the rafters sag, and through slackness the house leaks.

19 Men prepare a meal for enjoyment, and awine makes life merry, and bmoney 1is the answer to everything.

20 Furthermore, ain your bedchamber do not bcurse a king, and in your sleeping rooms do not curse a rich man, for a bird of the heavens will carry the sound and the winged creature will make the matter known.

Chapter 11

Cast Your Bread on the Waters

1 aCast your bread on the surface of the waters, for you awill find it 1after many days.

2 aDivide your portion to seven, or even to eight, for you do not know what bmisfortune may occur on the earth.

3 If the clouds are full, they pour out rain upon the earth; and whether a tree falls toward the south or toward the north, wherever the tree falls, there it 1lies.

4 He who watches the wind will not sow and he who looks at the clouds will not reap.

5 Just as you do not aknow 1the path of the wind and bhow bones are formed in the womb of the 2pregnant woman, so you do not cknow the activity of God who makes all things.

6 Sow your seed ain the morning and do not 1be idle in the evening, for you do not know whether 2morning or evening sowing will succeed, or whether both of them alike will be good.

7 The light is pleasant, and it is good for the eyes to asee the sun.

8 Indeed, if a man should live many years, let him arejoice in them all, and let him remember the bdays of darkness, for they will be many. Everything that is to come will be futility.

9 Rejoice, young man, during your childhood, and let your heart be pleasant during the days of young manhood. And follow the 1impulses of your heart and the 2adesires of your eyes. Yet know that bGod will bring you to judgment for all these things.

10 So, remove grief and anger from your heart and put away 1apain from your body, because childhood and the prime of life are fleeting.