Ecclesiastes 10:1-20
10 Dead flies* are what cause the oil of the ointment maker+ to stink, to bubble forth. [So] a little foolishness does to one who is precious for wisdom and glory.+
2 The heart of the wise is at his right hand,+ but the heart of the stupid at his left hand.+
3 And also in whatever way the foolish one is walking,+ his own heart is lacking,* and he certainly says to everybody that he is foolish.+
4 If the spirit of a ruler should mount up against you, do not leave your own place,+ for calmness itself allays great sins.+
5 There exists something calamitous that I have seen under the sun, as when there is a mistake+ going forth on account of the one in power:+
6 Foolishness* has been put in many high positions,+ but the rich ones themselves keep dwelling merely in a low condition.
7 I have seen servants on horses but princes walking on the earth just like servants.+
8 He that is digging a pit will himself fall right into it;+ and he that is breaking through a stone wall, a serpent will bite him.+
9 He that is quarrying out stones will hurt himself with them. He that is splitting logs will have to be careful with them.+
10 If an iron tool has become blunt and someone has not whetted its edge,+ then he will exert his own vital energies. So the using of wisdom to success means advantage.+
11 If the serpent bites when no charming results,+ then there is no advantage to the one indulging in the tongue.
12 The words of the mouth of the wise one mean favor,+ but the lips of the stupid one swallow him up.+
13 The start of the words of his mouth is foolishness,+ and the end afterward of his mouth is calamitous madness.
14 And the foolish one speaks many words.+
Man* does not know what will come to be; and that which will come to be after him, who can tell him?+
15 The hard work of the stupid ones makes them weary,+ because not one has come to know how to go to the city.+
16 How will it be with you, O land, when your king is a boy+ and your own princes keep eating even in the morning?
17 Happy are you, O land, when your king is the son of noble ones and your own princes eat at the proper time for mightiness, not for mere drinking.+
18 Through great laziness the beamwork sinks in, and through the letting down of the hands the house leaks.+
19 Bread* is for the laughter of the workers, and wine itself makes life rejoice;+ but money* is what meets a response in all things.+
20 Even in your bedroom do not call down evil upon the king himself,+ and in the interior rooms where you lie down do not call down evil upon anyone rich;+ for a flying creature of the heavens will convey the sound and something owning wings will tell the matter.+
Footnotes
^ Lit., “Flies of death.”
^ Or, “his own good motive is lacking.” Heb., lib·bohʹ cha·serʹ.
^ “Foolishness,” M; LXXSyVg, “The foolish one.”
^ Lit., “The earthling man.” Heb., ha·ʼa·dhamʹ.
^ Or, “Food.” Heb., leʹchem.
^ Lit., “but the silver.” Heb., wehak·keʹseph.
