A Little Foolishness
1 Ecclesiastes 10:1 Dead flies make a perfumer’s oil stink, so a little foolishness is weightier than wisdom and honor.
2 Ecclesiastes 10:2 A wise man’s heart directs him toward the right, but the foolish man’s heart directs him toward the left.
3 Ecclesiastes 10:3 Even when the fool walks along the road, his sense is lacking and he demonstrates to everyone that he is a fool.
4 Ecclesiastes 10:4 If the ruler’s temper rises against you, do not abandon your position, because composure allays great offenses.
5 Ecclesiastes 10:5 There is an evil I have seen under the sun, like an error which goes forth from the ruler—
6 Ecclesiastes 10:6 folly is set in many exalted places while rich men sit in humble places.
7 Ecclesiastes 10:7 I have seen slaves riding on horses and princes walking like slaves on the land.
8 Ecclesiastes 10:8 He who digs a pit may fall into it, and a serpent may bite him who breaks through a wall.
9 Ecclesiastes 10:9 He who quarries stones may be hurt by them, and he who splits logs may be endangered by them.
10 Ecclesiastes 10:10 If the axe is dull and he does not sharpen its edge, then he must exert more strength. Wisdom has the advantage of giving success.
11 Ecclesiastes 10:11 If the serpent bites before being charmed, there is no profit for the charmer.
12 Ecclesiastes 10:12 Words from the mouth of a wise man are gracious, while the lips of a fool consume him;
13 Ecclesiastes 10:13 the beginning of his talking is folly and the end of it is wicked madness.
14 Ecclesiastes 10:14 Yet the fool multiplies words. No man knows what will happen, and who can tell him what will come after him?
15 Ecclesiastes 10:15 The toil of a fool so wearies him that he does not even know how to go to a city.
16 Ecclesiastes 10:16 Woe to you, O land, whose king is a lad and whose princes feast in the morning.
17 Ecclesiastes 10:17 Blessed are you, O land, whose king is of nobility and whose princes eat at the appropriate time—for strength and not for drunkenness.
18 Ecclesiastes 10:18 Through indolence the rafters sag, and through slackness the house leaks.
19 Ecclesiastes 10:19 Men prepare a meal for enjoyment, and wine makes life merry, and money is the answer to everything.
20 Ecclesiastes 10:20 Furthermore, in your bedchamber do not curse a king, and in your sleeping rooms do not curse a rich man, for a bird of the heavens will carry the sound and the winged creature will make the matter known.