Ecclesiastes 10

¹A few dead flies in perfume

make all of it stink,

and a little foolishness

outweighs a lot of wisdom.

²Sensible thoughts lead you

to do right;

foolish thoughts lead you

to do wrong.

³Fools show their stupidity

by the way they live;

it's easy to see

they have no sense.

⁴Don't give up your job

when your boss gets angry.

If you stay calm,

you'll be forgiven.

⁵Some things rulers do are terribly unfair:

⁶they honour fools, but dishonour the rich;

⁷they let slaves ride on horses, but force slave owners to walk.

⁸If you dig a pit,[#Ps 7.15; Pr 26.27.]

you might fall in;

if you break down a wall,

a snake might bite you.

⁹You could even get hurt

by chiselling a stone

or chopping a log.

¹⁰If you don't sharpen your axe,

it will be harder to use;

if you are clever,

you'll know what to do.

¹¹The power to charm a snake

does you no good

if it bites you anyway.

¹²If you talk sensibly,

you will have friends;

if you talk foolishly,

you will destroy yourself.

¹³Fools begin with nonsense,

and their stupid chatter

ends with disaster.

¹⁴They never tire of talking,

but none of us really know

what the future will bring.

¹⁵Fools wear themselves out—

they don't know enough

to find their way home.

¹⁶A country is in for trouble

when its ruler is childish,

and its leaders

feast all day long.

¹⁷But a nation will prosper

when its ruler is mature,

and its leaders

don't feast too much.

¹⁸Some people are too lazy

to fix a leaky roof—

then the house falls in.

¹⁹Eating and drinking

make you feel happy,

and bribes can buy

everything you need.

²⁰Don't even think

about cursing the king;

don't curse the rich,

not even in secret.

A little bird might hear

and tell everything.