Ecclesiastes 10

¹As dead flies cause even a bottle of perfume to stink,

so a little foolishness spoils great wisdom and honor.

²A wise person chooses the right road;

a fool takes the wrong one.

³You can identify fools

just by the way they walk down the street!

⁴If your boss is angry at you, don’t quit!

A quiet spirit can overcome even great mistakes.

The Ironies of Life

⁵There is another evil I have seen under the sun. Kings and rulers make a grave mistake ⁶when they give great authority to foolish people and low positions to people of proven worth. ⁷I have even seen servants riding horseback like princes—and princes walking like servants!

⁸When you dig a well,

you might fall in.

When you demolish an old wall,

you could be bitten by a snake.

⁹When you work in a quarry,

stones might fall and crush you.

When you chop wood,

there is danger with each stroke of your ax.

¹⁰Using a dull ax requires great strength,

so sharpen the blade.

That’s the value of wisdom;

it helps you succeed.

¹¹If a snake bites before you charm it,

what’s the use of being a snake charmer?

¹²Wise words bring approval,

but fools are destroyed by their own words.

¹³Fools base their thoughts on foolish assumptions,

so their conclusions will be wicked madness;

¹⁴they chatter on and on.

No one really knows what is going to happen;

no one can predict the future.

¹⁵Fools are so exhausted by a little work

that they can’t even find their way home.

¹⁶What sorrow for the land ruled by a servant,^a

the land whose leaders feast in the morning.

¹⁷Happy 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.

¹⁸Laziness leads to a sagging roof;

idleness leads to a leaky house.

¹⁹A party gives laughter,

wine gives happiness,

and money gives everything!

²⁰Never 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.