Ecclesiastes - Chapter 10 | Good News Translation

  • 1. Dead flies can make a whole bottle of perfume stink, and a little stupidity can cancel out the greatest wisdom.
  • 2. It is natural for the wise to do the right thing and for fools to do the wrong thing.
  • 3. Their stupidity will be evident even to strangers they meet along the way; they let everyone know that they are fools.
  • 4. If your ruler becomes angry with you, do not hand in your resignation; serious wrongs may be pardoned if you keep calm.
  • 5. Here is an injustice I have seen in the world---an injustice caused by rulers.
  • 6. Stupid people are given positions of authority while the rich are ignored.
  • 7. I have seen slaves on horseback while noblemen go on foot like slaves.
  • 8. If you dig a pit, you fall in it; if you break through a wall, a snake bites you.
  • 9. If you work in a stone quarry, you get hurt by stones. If you split wood, you get hurt doing it.
  • 10. If your ax is dull and you don't sharpen it, you have to work harder to use it. It is smarter to plan ahead.
  • 11. Knowing how to charm a snake is of no use if you let the snake bite first.
  • 12. What the wise say brings them honor, but fools are destroyed by their own words.
  • 13. They start out with silly talk and end up with pure madness.
  • 14. A 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.
  • 15. Only someone too stupid to find his way home would wear himself out with work.
  • 16. A country is in trouble when its king is a youth and its leaders feast all night long.
  • 17. But 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.
  • 18. When you are too lazy to repair your roof, it will leak, and the house will fall in.
  • 19. Feasting makes you happy and wine cheers you up, but you can't have either without money.
  • 20. Don'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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