Ecclesiastes 12:10-11

New International Version

¹⁰The Teacher^(A) searched to find just the right words, and what he wrote was upright and true.^(B)

¹¹The words of the wise are like goads, their collected sayings like firmly embedded nails^(C)—given by one shepherd.^[a]

Ecclesiastes 12:10-11

English Standard Version

¹⁰^(A)The Preacher sought to find words of delight, and uprightly he wrote words of truth.

¹¹^(B)The words of the wise are like goads, and like ^(C)nails firmly fixed are the collected sayings; they are ^(D)given by ^(E)one Shepherd.

¹⁰The Preacher sought to find ^(A)delightful words and to write ^(B)words of truth correctly.

¹¹The ^(C)words of the wise are like ^[a]^(D)goads, and masters of these collections are like driven ^(E)nails; they are given by one Shepherd.

New International Version (NIV)