Ecclesiastes Chapter 10
1 Dead flies even make perfume stink;
likewise, a little foolishness can spoil wisdom and honor.
2 A foolish heart pulls to the left;
a wise one pulls to the right.
3 You can recognize fools
just by the way they walk.
4 If a ruler’s anger flares at you, don’t react,
because composure smooths over big offenses.
Eccl 10:1-4
5 There’s a problem I’ve seen under the sun, an error that originates in rulers 6 who appoint foolish people to high positions while putting successful people in lower ones. 7 I’ve seen slaves ride horses beside princes that walk on the ground like slaves.
8 If you dig a pit, you may fall in it;
if you break through a wall, you may get bit by a snake.
9 If you quarry stones, you may be injured by them;
if you split logs, you may hurt yourself doing it.
10 If you don’t sharpen your axe,
you have to work harder;
wisdom aids success.
Eccl 10:5-10
11 If a snake bites before it’s charmed,
the charmer hasn’t accomplished anything.
12 Words from the wise are gracious;
the thoughts of fools destroy them.
13They begin with foolish talk,
and foolish talk leads to foolish deeds;
14 but fools just keep talking.
Nobody knows what’s going to happen;
who can tell people what will come after them?
15 Fools’ toil wears them out so much
they can’t find their way home.
16 Misfortune awaits the land whose king is a kid,
whose princes feast in the morning.
17 You’re a fortunate land if its king is noble
and its princes eat at normal times—
for energy, not for gluttony.
Eccl 10:11-17
18 Through laziness, rafters sag;
through idleness, the roof leaks.
19 People fix a meal for enjoyment;
wine makes life happy;
money solves everything;
20 Don’t curse the king in your bedroom
or the rich where you sleep.
A bird in the sky may hear what you say
and spread it around.
Eccl 10:18-20