Ecclesiastes 10

Dead flies spoil the perfume

As dead flies cause even a bottle of perfume to stink, so a little foolishness spoils great wisdom and honor. ²A wise person chooses the right road; a fool takes the wrong one. ³You can identify fools just by the way they walk down the street!

⁴If your boss is angry at you, don’t quit! A quiet spirit can overcome even great mistakes.a ⁵There is another evil I have seen under the sun. Kings and rulers make a grave mistake ⁶when they give great authority to foolish people and low positions to people of proven worth.

⁷I have even seen servants riding horseback like princes—and princes walking like servants! ⁸When you dig a well, you might fall in. When you demolish an old wall, you could be bitten by a snake.b ⁹When you work in a quarry, stones might fall and crush you. When you chop wood, there is danger with each stroke of your ax.

¹⁰Using a dull ax requires great strength, so sharpen the blade. That’s the value of wisdom; it helps you succeed.c ¹¹If a snake bites before you charm it, what’s the use of being a snake charmer? ¹²Wise words bring approval, but fools are destroyed by their own words.d

¹³Fools base their thoughts on foolish assumptions, so their conclusions will be wicked madness; ¹⁴they chatter on and on. No one really knows what is going to happen; no one can predict the future. ¹⁵Fools are so exhausted by a little work that they can’t even find their way home.

¹⁶What sorrow for the land ruled by a servant, the land whose leaders feast in the morning.e ¹⁷Happy is the land whose king is a noble leader and whose leaders feast at the proper time to gain strength for their work, not to get drunk. ¹⁸Laziness leads to a sagging roof; idleness leads to a leaky house.f

¹⁹A party gives laughter, wine gives happiness, and money gives everything! ²⁰Never make light of the king, even in your thoughts. And don’t make fun of the powerful, even in your own bedroom. For a little bird might deliver your message and tell them what you said.g