^19 (A)Wisdom strengthens a wise person more than ten rulers who are in a city. ²⁰ Indeed, ^(B)there is not a righteous person on earth who always does good and does not ever sin. ²¹ Also, do not ^[a]take seriously all the words which are spoken, so that you do not hear your servant ^(C)cursing you, ²² for ^[b]you know that even you have cursed others many times as well.

²³ I tested all this with wisdom, and I said, “I will be wise,” ^(D)but wisdom was far from me. ²⁴ What has been is remote and ^(E)very ^[c]mysterious. ^(F)Who can discover it? ²⁵ I ^[d](G)directed my ^[e]mind to know and to investigate, and to seek wisdom and an explanation, and to know the evil of foolishness and the foolishness of insanity. ²⁶ And I discovered as more ^(H)bitter than death the woman whose heart is ^(I)snares and nets, whose hands are chains. ^(J)One who is pleasing to God will escape from her, but ^(K)the sinner will be captured by her.

A Little Foolishness

10 Dead flies turn a ^(A)perfumer’s oil rancid, so a little foolishness is more ^[a]potent than wisdom and honor. ² A wise person’s heart directs him toward the right, but the foolish ^(B)person’s heart directs him toward the left. ³ Even when the fool walks along the road, his ^[b]sense is lacking, and he ^[c](C)demonstrates to everyone that he is a fool. ⁴ If the ruler’s ^[d]temper rises against you, ^(D)do not abandon your place, because ^(E)composure puts great offenses to rest.

⁵ There is an evil I have seen under the sun, like a mistake that proceeds from the ruler: ^6 (F)foolishness is set in many exalted places while the rich sit in humble places. ⁷ I have seen ^(G)slaves riding ^(H)on horses and princes walking like slaves on the land.

^8 (I)One who digs a pit may fall into it, and a ^(J)serpent may bite one who breaks through a wall. ⁹ One who quarries stones may be hurt by them, and one who splits logs may be endangered by them. ¹⁰ If the ^[e]axe is dull and he does not sharpen its ^[f]edge, then he must exert more strength. Wisdom has the advantage of bringing success. ¹¹ If the serpent bites ^[g](K)before being charmed, there is no benefit for the charmer. ^12 (L)Words from the mouth of a wise person are gracious, while the lips of a ^(M)fool consume him; ¹³ the beginning of ^[h]his talking is foolishness, and the end of ^[i]it is evil ^(N)insanity. ¹⁴ Yet the ^(O)fool multiplies words. No person knows what will happen, and who can tell him ^(P)what will come after him? ¹⁵ The labor of ^[j]a fool makes him so weary that he does not even know how to go to a city. ¹⁶ Woe to you, land whose ^(Q)king is a boy, and whose princes ^[k]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 ^(R)drunkenness. ¹⁸ Through ^(S)extreme laziness the rafters sag, and through idleness the house leaks. ¹⁹ People prepare a meal for enjoyment, ^(T)wine makes life joyful, and ^(U)money ^[l]is the answer to everything. ²⁰ Furthermore, ^(V)in your bedroom do not ^(W)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.

Cast Your Bread on the Waters

11 ^(X)Cast your bread on the surface of the waters, for you ^(Y)will find it ^[m]after many days. ^2 (Z)Divide your portion to seven, or even to eight, for you do not know what ^(AA)misfortune may occur on the earth. ³ If the clouds are full, they pour out rain on the earth; and whether a tree falls toward the south or toward the north, wherever the tree falls, there it ^[n]lies. ⁴ One who watches the wind will not sow and one who looks at the clouds will not harvest. ⁵ Just as you do not ^(AB)know the path of the ^[o]wind, and ^(AC)how bones are formed in the womb of the ^[p]pregnant woman, so you do not ^(AD)know the activity of God who makes everything.

⁶ Sow your seed ^(AE)in the morning and do not ^[q]be idle in the evening, for you do not know whether ^[r]one or the other will succeed, or whether both of them alike will be good.