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.

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

so a little folly outweighs wisdom and honor.

2 A wise man’s heart inclines him to the right,

but a fool’s heart to the left.

3 Even when the fool walks on the road, he lacks sense,

and he says to everyone that he is a fool.

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.

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!

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.

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.

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.

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.

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. 

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.

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.

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.

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.