Ecclesiastes 10

Chapter 10

A Little Foolishness

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

^8aHe who digs a pit may fall into it, and a ^bserpent may bite him who breaks through a wall.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

²⁰Furthermore, ^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.