Ecclesiastes 10

New King James Version

Wisdom and Folly

10 Dead^[a] flies ^[b]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.
²A wise man’s heart is at his right hand,
But a fool’s heart at his left.
³Even when a fool walks along the way,
He lacks wisdom,
^(A)And he shows everyone that he is a fool.
⁴If the spirit of the ruler rises against you,
^(B)Do not leave your post;
For ^(C)conciliation^[c] pacifies great offenses.

⁵There is an evil I have seen under the sun,
As an error proceeding from the ruler:
⁶^(D)Folly is set in ^[d]great dignity,
While the rich sit in a lowly place.
⁷I have seen servants ^(E)on horses,
While princes walk on the ground like servants.

⁸^(F)He who digs a pit will fall into it,
And whoever breaks through a wall will be bitten by a serpent.
⁹He who quarries stones may be hurt by them,
And he who splits wood may be endangered by it.
¹⁰If the ax is dull,
And one does not sharpen the edge,
Then he must use more strength;
But wisdom ^[e]brings success.

¹¹A serpent may bite ^(G)when it is not charmed;
The ^[f]babbler is no different.
¹²^(H)The words of a wise man’s mouth are gracious,
But ^(I)the lips of a fool shall swallow him up;
¹³The words of his mouth begin with foolishness,
And the end of his talk is raving madness.
¹⁴^(J)A fool also multiplies words.
No man knows what is to be;
Who can tell him ^(K)what will be after him?
¹⁵The labor of fools wearies them,
For they do not even know how to go to the city!

¹⁶^(L)Woe to you, O land, when your king is a child,
And your princes feast in the morning!
¹⁷Blessed are you, O land, when your king is the son of nobles,
And your ^(M)princes feast at the proper time—
For strength and not for drunkenness!
¹⁸Because of laziness the ^[g]building decays,
And ^(N)through idleness of hands the house leaks.
¹⁹A feast is made for laughter,
And ^(O)wine makes merry;
But money answers everything.

²⁰^(P)Do not curse the king, even in your thought;
Do not curse the rich, even in your bedroom;
For a bird of the air may carry your voice,
And a bird in flight may tell the matter.