Ecclesiastes 10:12-20

New American Standard Bible

^12 (A)Words from the mouth of a wise person are gracious, while the lips of a ^(B)fool consume him; ¹³ the beginning of ^[a]his talking is foolishness, and the end of ^[b]it is evil ^(C)insanity. ¹⁴ Yet the ^(D)fool multiplies words. No person knows what will happen, and who can tell him ^(E)what will come after him? ¹⁵ The labor of ^[c]a fool makes him so weary that he does not even know how to go to a city. ¹⁶ Woe to you, land whose ^(F)king is a boy, and whose princes ^[d]feast in the morning. ¹⁷ Blessed are you, land whose king is of nobility, and whose princes eat at the appropriate time—for strength and not for ^(G)drunkenness. ¹⁸ Through ^(H)extreme laziness the rafters sag, and through idleness the house leaks. ¹⁹ People prepare a meal for enjoyment, ^(I)wine makes life joyful, and ^(J)money ^[e]is the answer to everything. ²⁰ Furthermore, ^(K)in your bedroom do not ^(L)curse a king, and in your sleeping rooms do not curse a rich person; for a bird of the sky will bring the sound, and the winged one will make your word known.