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