10:1 Dead flies make a perfumer's oil stink, so a little foolishness seems 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, he lacks sense and he demonstrates his foolishness to everyone. |
10:4 If the ruler's temper rises against you, do not abandon your position, because composure allays great offenses. |
10:5 I have seen an evil under the sun, like an error which goes forth from the ruler-- |
10:6 folly exalts itself in many 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 receive hurt by them, and he who splits logs may receive danger by them. |
10:10 If the axe has dullness 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 someone charms it, no profit exists for the charmer. |
10:12 Words from the mouth of a wise man have graciousness, while the lips of a fool consume him; |
10:13 the beginning of his talking has folly and the end of it demonstrates 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, who has a lad for a king and whose princes feast in the morning. |
10:17 God blesses you, O land, whose king comes from 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 answers 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. |