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.