Ecclesiastes 9:13-10:20

New King James Version

Wisdom Superior to Folly

¹³This wisdom I have also seen under the sun, and it seemed great to me: ¹⁴^(A)There was a little city with few men in it; and a great king came against it, besieged it, and built great ^[a]snares around it. ¹⁵Now there was found in it a poor wise man, and he by his wisdom delivered the city. Yet no one remembered that same poor man.

¹⁶Then I said:

“Wisdom is better than ^(B)strength.
Nevertheless ^(C)the poor man’s wisdom is despised,
And his words are not heard.
¹⁷Words of the wise, spoken quietly, should be heard
Rather than the shout of a ruler of fools.
¹⁸Wisdom is better than weapons of war;
But ^(D)one sinner destroys much good.”

Wisdom and Folly

10 Dead^[b] flies ^[c]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,
^(E)And he shows everyone that he is a fool.
⁴If the spirit of the ruler rises against you,
^(F)Do not leave your post;
For ^(G)conciliation^[d] pacifies great offenses.

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

⁸^(J)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 ^[f]brings success.

¹¹A serpent may bite ^(K)when it is not charmed;
The ^[g]babbler is no different.
¹²^(L)The words of a wise man’s mouth are gracious,
But ^(M)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^(N)A fool also multiplies words.
No man knows what is to be;
Who can tell him ^(O)what will be after him?
¹⁵The labor of fools wearies them,
For they do not even know how to go to the city!

¹⁶^(P)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 ^(Q)princes feast at the proper time—
For strength and not for drunkenness!
¹⁸Because of laziness the ^[h]building decays,
And ^(R)through idleness of hands the house leaks.
¹⁹A feast is made for laughter,
And ^(S)wine makes merry;
But money answers everything.

²⁰^(T)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.