Ecclesiastes 10
10
1Dead flies will make even perfume smell bad.
In the same way, a little foolishness can ruin
a wise man’s fame for wisdom.
2A wise man’s heart leads him in the right way.
But the heart of a foolish person leads him in the wrong way.
3A foolish person is not wise.
It shows in everything he does.
Even as he walks along the road,
he shows everyone how stupid he is.
4Don’t leave your job
just because the ruler is angry with you.
Remain calm.
It will help correct your mistakes.
5Here is something else unfair that happens here on earth.
It is the kind of mistake rulers make:
6Foolish people are given important positions
while rich people are given less important ones.
7I have seen servants ride on horses
while princes walk beside them on foot.
8Anyone who digs a pit might fall into it.
Anyone who knocks down a wall might be bitten by a snake.
9Anyone who moves large stones might be hurt by them.
And anyone who cuts logs might get hurt while doing it.
10Cutting logs with a dull ax
makes you work harder.
A wise man will sharpen his ax.
In the same way, wisdom can make any job easier.
11Someone might know how to control snakes.
But what good is such wisdom if the snake has already bitten him?
12A wise man’s words bring him praise.
But a foolish person’s words will destroy him.
13A foolish person begins by saying something foolish.
In the end he is saying even crazier things.
14A foolish person talks too much about what he will do.
No one knows the future.
No one can tell him what will happen after he dies.
15A foolish person doesn’t know even the most obvious things.
He can’t even find his way back to town.
So he has to wear himself out working.
The Value of Work
16How terrible it will be for a country
if its king is a child.
How terrible it will be for that country
if its leaders have parties all the time.
17A country is well off
if its king comes from a good family.
It is good for a country
if its leaders control their eating and drinking.
They should eat and drink for strength,
not to get drunk.
18If a person is lazy and doesn’t repair the roof,
it will begin to fall.
If he refuses to fix it,
the house will leak.
19A party makes you feel good.
And wine makes you feel happy.
But both cost you a lot of money.
20Don’t say or think bad things about the king.
And don’t say bad things about rich people even alone in your bedroom.
A little bird might report it to others.
A bird might fly to them and tell all you said.
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Ecclesiastes 10: ICB
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Copyright © 2015 by Tommy Nelson™, a Division of Thomas Nelson, Inc. All rights reserved. Used by permission.
Ecclesiastes 10
10
1Dying flies spoil the sweetness of the ointment. Wisdom and glory is more precious than a small and shortlived folly.
2The heart of a wise man is in his right hand, and the heart of a fool is in his left hand.
3Yea, and the fool when he walketh in the way, whereas be himself is a fool, esteemeth all men fools.
4If the spirit of him that hath power, ascend upon thee, leave not thy place: because care will make the greatest sins to cease.
5There is an evil that I have seen under the sun, as it were by an error proceeding from the face of the prince:
6A fool set in high dignity, and the rich sitting beneath.
7I have seen servants upon horses: and princes walking on the ground as servants.
8He that diggeth a pit, shall fall into it: and he that breaketh a hedge, a serpent shall bite him.
9He that removeth stones, shall be hurt by them: and he that cutteth trees, shall be wounded by them.
10If the iron be blunt, and be not as before, but be made blunt, with much labour it shall be sharpened: and after industry shall follow wisdom.
11If a serpent bite in silence, he is nothing better that backbiteth secretly.
12The words of the mouth of a wise man are grace: but the lips of a fool shall throw him down headlong.
13The beginning of his words is folly, and the end of his talk is a mischievous error.
14A fool multiplieth words. A man cannot tell what hath been before him: and what shall be after him, who can tell him?
15The labour of fools shall afflict them that know not bow to go to the city.
16Woe to thee, O land, when thy king is a child, and when the princes eat in the morning.
17Blessed is the land, whose king is noble, and whose princes eat in due season for refreshment, and not for riotousness.
18By slothfulness a building shall be brought down, and through the weakness of hands, the house shall drop through.
19For laughter they make bread, and wine that the living may feast: and all things obey money.
20Detract not the king, no not in thy thought; and speak not evil of the rich man in thy private chamber: because even the birds of the air will carry thy voice, and he that hath wings will tell what thou hast said.
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An historical text maintained by the British and Foreign Bible Society.