Ecclesiastes 10
10
1Dead flies can make a whole bottle of perfume stink, and a little stupidity can cancel out the greatest wisdom.
2It is natural for the wise to do the right thing and for fools to do the wrong thing. 3Their stupidity will be evident even to strangers they meet along the way; they let everyone know that they are fools.
4If your ruler becomes angry with you, do not hand in your resignation; serious wrongs may be pardoned if you keep calm.#10.4 keep calm; or submit to him.
5Here is an injustice I have seen in the world — an injustice caused by rulers. 6Stupid people are given positions of authority while the rich are ignored. 7I have seen slaves on horseback while noblemen go on foot like slaves.
8 #
Ps 7.15; Prov 26.27 If you dig a pit, you fall in it; if you break through a wall, a snake bites you. 9If you work in a stone quarry, you get hurt by stones. If you split wood, you get hurt doing it. 10If your axe is blunt and you don't sharpen it, you have to work harder to use it. It is more sensible to plan ahead. 11Knowing how to charm a snake is of no use if you let the snake bite first. 12What the wise say brings them honour, but fools are destroyed by their own words. 13They start out with silly talk and end up with pure madness. 14A fool talks on and on.
No one knows what is going to happen next, and no one can tell us what will happen after we die.
15Only someone too stupid to find his way home would wear himself out with work.
16A country is in trouble when its king is a youth and its leaders feast all night long. 17But a country is fortunate to have a king who makes his own decisions and leaders who eat at the proper time, who control themselves and don't get drunk.
18When someone is too lazy to repair his roof, it will leak, and the house will fall in.
19Feasting makes you happy and wine cheers you up, but you can't have either without money.
20Don't criticize the king, even silently, and don't criticize the rich, even in the privacy of your bedroom. A bird might carry the message and tell them what you said.
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Ecclesiastes 10: GNBDC
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Good News Bible. Scripture taken from the Good News Bible (r) (Today's English Version Second Edition, UK/British Edition). Copyright © 1992 British & Foreign Bible Society. Used by permission.
Ecclesiastes 10
10
A Little Foolishness
1Dead flies make the oil of the perfumer give off a foul odor; so a little foolishness [in one who is esteemed] outweighs wisdom and honor. 2A wise man’s heart turns him toward the right [which is the way of blessing], but a fool’s heart turns him toward the left [which is the way of condemnation]. [Matt 25:31-41] 3Even when a fool walks along the road, his [common] sense and good judgment fail him and he demonstrates to everyone that he is a fool. 4If the temper of the ruler rises against you, do not leave your post [showing resistance], because composure and calmness prevent great offenses.
5There is an evil I have seen under the sun, like an error which proceeds from the ruler— 6folly is set in many exalted places and in great dignity while the rich sit in humble places. 7I have seen slaves riding on horses and princes walking like slaves on the ground.
8He who digs a pit [for others] may fall into it, and a serpent may bite him who breaks through a [stone] wall. [Ps 57:6] 9He who quarries stones may be hurt with them, and he who splits logs may be endangered by them. [Prov 26:27] 10If the axe is dull and he does not sharpen its edge, then he must exert more strength; but wisdom [to sharpen the axe] helps him succeed [with less effort]. 11If the serpent bites before being charmed, then there is no profit for the charmer. 12The words of a wise man’s mouth are gracious and win him favor, but the lips of a fool consume him; 13the beginning of #10:13 Lit the words of his mouth.his talking is foolishness and the end of his talk is wicked madness. 14Yet the fool multiplies words, though no man knows what will happen, and who can tell him what will come after he is gone? 15The labor of a fool so wearies him [because he is ignorant] that he does not even know how to go to a city. 16Woe to you, O land, when your king is a child and when your [incompetent] officials and princes feast in the morning. 17Blessed [prosperous and admired] are you, O land, when your king is a man of noble birth, and your princes and officials feast at the proper time—for strength and not for drunkenness. [Is 32:8] 18Through laziness the rafters [of state affairs] decay and the roof sags, and through idleness [the roof of] the house leaks. 19The officials make a feast for enjoyment [instead of repairing what is broken], and serve wine to make life merry, and money is the answer to everything. 20Moreover, do not curse the king, even in your bedroom, and in your sleeping rooms do not curse the rich, for a bird of the air will carry the sound and a winged creature will make the matter known. [Ex 22:28]
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