Ecclesiastes 10:10-20 - Compare All Versions

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If the ax is dull and its edge unsharpened, more strength is needed, but skill will bring success. If a snake bites before it is charmed, the charmer receives no fee. Words from the mouth of the wise are gracious, but fools are consumed by their own lips. At the beginning their words are folly; at the end they are wicked madness— and fools multiply words. No one knows what is coming— who can tell someone else what will happen after them? The toil of fools wearies them; they do not know the way to town. Woe to the land whose king was a servant and whose princes feast in the morning. Blessed is the land whose king is of noble birth and whose princes eat at a proper time— for strength and not for drunkenness. Through laziness, the rafters sag; because of idle hands, the house leaks. A feast is made for laughter, wine makes life merry, and money is the answer for everything. Do not revile the king even in your thoughts, or curse the rich in your bedroom, because a bird in the sky may carry your words, and a bird on the wing may report what you say.

If the iron is blunt, and one does not sharpen the edge, he must use more strength, but wisdom helps one to succeed. If the serpent bites before it is charmed, there is no advantage to the charmer. The words of a wise man’s mouth win him favor, but the lips of a fool consume him. The beginning of the words of his mouth is foolishness, and the end of his talk is evil madness. A fool multiplies words, though no man knows what is to be, and who can tell him what will be after him? The toil of a fool wearies him, for he does not know the way to the city. Woe to you, O land, when your king is a child, and your princes feast in the morning! Happy are you, O land, when your king is the son of the nobility, and your princes feast at the proper time, for strength, and not for drunkenness! Through sloth the roof sinks in, and through indolence the house leaks. Bread is made for laughter, and wine gladdens life, and money answers everything. Even in your thoughts, do not curse the king, nor in your bedroom curse the rich, for a bird of the air will carry your voice, or some winged creature tell the matter.

Using a dull ax requires great strength, so sharpen the blade. That’s the value of wisdom; it helps you succeed. If a snake bites before you charm it, what’s the use of being a snake charmer? Wise words bring approval, but fools are destroyed by their own words. Fools base their thoughts on foolish assumptions, so their conclusions will be wicked madness; they chatter on and on. No one really knows what is going to happen; no one can predict the future. Fools are so exhausted by a little work that they can’t even find their way home. What sorrow for the land ruled by a servant, the land whose leaders feast in the morning. Happy is the land whose king is a noble leader and whose leaders feast at the proper time to gain strength for their work, not to get drunk. Laziness leads to a sagging roof; idleness leads to a leaky house. A party gives laughter, wine gives happiness, and money gives everything! Never make light of the king, even in your thoughts. And don’t make fun of the powerful, even in your own bedroom. For a little bird might deliver your message and tell them what you said.

If the ax is dull, and one does not sharpen its edge, then one must exert more strength; however, the advantage of wisdom is that it brings success. If the snake bites before it is charmed,  then there is no advantage for the charmer.  The words from the mouth of a wise person are gracious,  but the lips of a fool consume him.  The beginning of the words from his mouth is folly, but the end of his speaking is evil madness; yet the fool multiplies words. No one knows what will happen, and who can tell anyone what will happen after him?  The struggles of fools weary them, for they don’t know how to go to the city. Woe to you, land, when your king is a youth  and your princes feast in the morning. Blessed are you, land, when your king is a son of nobles and your princes feast at the proper time — for strength and not for drunkenness.  Because of laziness the roof caves in, and because of negligent hands the house leaks. A feast is prepared for laughter, and wine makes life happy,  and money  is the answer for everything.  Do not curse the king even in your thoughts,  and do not curse a rich person even in your bedroom,  for a bird of the sky may carry the message, and a winged creature may report the matter.

If the iron be blunt, and he do not whet the edge, then must he put to more strength: but wisdom is profitable to direct. Surely the serpent will bite without enchantment; and a babbler is no better. The words of a wise man's mouth are gracious; but the lips of a fool will swallow up himself. The beginning of the words of his mouth is foolishness: and the end of his talk is mischievous madness. A fool also is full of words: a man cannot tell what shall be; and what shall be after him, who can tell him? The labour of the foolish wearieth every one of them, because he knoweth not how to go to the city. Woe to thee, O land, when thy king is a child, and thy princes eat in the morning! Blessed art thou, O land, when thy king is the son of nobles, and thy princes eat in due season, for strength, and not for drunkenness! By much slothfulness the building decayeth; and through idleness of the hands the house droppeth through. A feast is made for laughter, and wine maketh merry: but money answereth all things. Curse not the king, no not in thy thought; and curse not the rich in thy bedchamber: for a bird of the air shall carry the voice, and that which hath wings shall tell the matter.

If the ax is dull, And one does not sharpen the edge, Then he must use more strength; But wisdom brings success. A serpent may bite when it is not charmed; The babbler is no different. The words of a wise man’s mouth are gracious, But the lips of a fool shall swallow him up; The words of his mouth begin with foolishness, And the end of his talk is raving madness. A fool also multiplies words. No man knows what is to be; Who can tell him what will be after him? The labor of fools wearies them, For they do not even know how to go to the city! Woe to you, O land, when your king is a child, And your princes feast in the morning! Blessed are you, O land, when your king is the son of nobles, And your princes feast at the proper time— For strength and not for drunkenness! Because of laziness the building decays, And through idleness of hands the house leaks. A feast is made for laughter, And wine makes merry; But money answers everything. 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.

Remember: The duller the ax the harder the work; Use your head: The more brains, the less muscle. If the snake bites before it’s been charmed, What’s the point in then sending for the charmer? * * * The words of a wise person are gracious. The talk of a fool self-destructs— He starts out talking nonsense And ends up spouting insanity and evil. Fools talk way too much, Chattering stuff they know nothing about. A decent day’s work so fatigues fools That they can’t find their way back to town. * * * Unlucky the land whose king is a young pup, And whose princes party all night. Lucky the land whose king is mature, Where the princes behave themselves And don’t drink themselves silly. * * * A shiftless man lives in a tumbledown shack; A lazy woman ends up with a leaky roof. Laughter and bread go together, And wine gives sparkle to life— But it’s money that makes the world go around. Don’t bad-mouth your leaders, not even under your breath, And don’t abuse your betters, even in the privacy of your home. Loose talk has a way of getting picked up and spread around. Little birds drop the crumbs of your gossip far and wide.

If the axe is dull and he does not sharpen its edge, then he must exert more strength. Wisdom has the advantage of bringing success. If the serpent bites before being charmed, there is no benefit for the charmer. Words from the mouth of a wise person are gracious, while the lips of a fool consume him; the beginning of his talking is foolishness, and the end of it is evil insanity. Yet the fool multiplies words. No person knows what will happen, and who can tell him what will come after him? The labor of a fool makes him so weary that he does not even know how to go to a city. Woe to you, land whose king is a boy, and whose princes feast in the morning. Blessed are you, land whose king is of nobility, and whose princes eat at the appropriate time—for strength and not for drunkenness. Through extreme laziness the rafters sag, and through idleness the house leaks. People prepare a meal for enjoyment, wine makes life joyful, and money is the answer to everything. Furthermore, in your bedroom do not 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.

If 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]. If the serpent bites before being charmed, then there is no profit for the charmer. The words of a wise man’s mouth are gracious and win him favor, but the lips of a fool consume him; the beginning of his talking is foolishness and the end of his talk is wicked madness. Yet the fool multiplies words, though no man knows what will happen, and who can tell him what will come after he is gone? The labor of a fool so wearies him [because he is ignorant] that he does not even know how to go to a city. Woe to you, O land, when your king is a child and when your [incompetent] officials and princes feast in the morning. Blessed [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] Through laziness the rafters [of state affairs] decay and the roof sags, and through idleness [the roof of] the house leaks. The 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. Moreover, 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]

If an iron axhead is blunt and a workman does not sharpen its edge, he must exert a great deal of effort; so wisdom has the advantage of giving success. If the snake should bite before it is charmed, the snake charmer is in trouble. The words of a wise person win him favor, but the words of a fool are self-destructive. At the beginning his words are foolish and at the end his talk is wicked madness, yet a fool keeps on babbling. No one knows what will happen; who can tell him what will happen in the future? The toil of a stupid fool wears him out, because he does not even know the way to the city. Woe to you, O land, when your king is childish, and your princes feast in the morning! Blessed are you, O land, when your king is the son of nobility, and your princes feast at the proper time – with self-control and not in drunkenness. Because of laziness the roof caves in, and because of idle hands the house leaks. Feasts are made for laughter, and wine makes life merry, but money is the answer for everything. Do not curse a king even in your thoughts, and do not curse the rich while in your bedroom; for a bird might report what you are thinking, or some winged creature might repeat your words.