Ecclesiastes 10 Parallel Bible Translations

Ecclesiastes 10 ▼
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1 As dead flies cause even a bottle of perfume to stink, so a little foolishness spoils great wisdom and honor. Dead flies make the perfumer’s ointment give off a stench; so a little folly outweighs wisdom and honor. As dead flies give perfume a bad smell, so a little folly outweighs wisdom and honor.
2 A wise person chooses the right road; a fool takes the wrong one. A wise man’s heart inclines him to the right, but a fool’s heart to the left. The heart of the wise inclines to the right, but the heart of the fool to the left.
3 You can identify fools just by the way they walk down the street! Even when the fool walks on the road, he lacks sense, and he says to everyone that he is a fool. Even as fools walk along the road, they lack sense and show everyone how stupid they are.
4 If your boss is angry at you, don’t quit! A quiet spirit can overcome even great mistakes. If the anger of the ruler rises against you, do not leave your place, for calmness will lay great offenses to rest. If a ruler’s anger rises against you, do not leave your post; calmness can lay great offenses to rest.
5 There is another evil I have seen under the sun. Kings and rulers make a grave mistake There is an evil that I have seen under the sun, as it were an error proceeding from the ruler: There is an evil I have seen under the sun, the sort of error that arises from a ruler:
6 when they give great authority to foolish people and low positions to people of proven worth. folly is set in many high places, and the rich sit in a low place. Fools are put in many high positions, while the rich occupy the low ones.
7 I have even seen servants riding horseback like princes—and princes walking like servants! I have seen slaves on horses, and princes walking on the ground like slaves. I have seen slaves on horseback, while princes go on foot like slaves.
8 When you dig a well, you might fall in. When you demolish an old wall, you could be bitten by a snake. He who digs a pit will fall into it, and a serpent will bite him who breaks through a wall. Whoever digs a pit may fall into it; whoever breaks through a wall may be bitten by a snake.
9 When you work in a quarry, stones might fall and crush you. When you chop wood, there is danger with each stroke of your ax. He who quarries stones is hurt by them, and he who splits logs is endangered by them. Whoever quarries stones may be injured by them; whoever splits logs may be endangered by them.
10 Using a dull ax requires great strength, so sharpen the blade. That’s the value of wisdom; it helps you succeed. If the iron is blunt, and one does not sharpen the edge, he must use more strength, but wisdom helps one to succeed. If the ax is dull and its edge unsharpened, more strength is needed, but skill will bring success.
11 If a snake bites before you charm it, what’s the use of being a snake charmer? If the serpent bites before it is charmed, there is no advantage to the charmer. If a snake bites before it is charmed, the charmer receives no fee.
12 Wise words bring approval, but fools are destroyed by their own words. The words of a wise man’s mouth win him favor, but the lips of a fool consume him. Words from the mouth of the wise are gracious, but fools are consumed by their own lips.
13 Fools base their thoughts on foolish assumptions, so their conclusions will be wicked madness; The beginning of the words of his mouth is foolishness, and the end of his talk is evil madness. At the beginning their words are folly; at the end they are wicked madness—
14 they chatter on and on. No one really knows what is going to happen; no one can predict the future. A fool multiplies words, though no man knows what is to be, and who can tell him what will be after him? and fools multiply words. No one knows what is coming— who can tell someone else what will happen after them?
15 Fools are so exhausted by a little work that they can’t even find their way home. The toil of a fool wearies him, for he does not know the way to the city. The toil of fools wearies them; they do not know the way to town.
16 What sorrow for the land ruled by a servant, the land whose leaders feast in the morning. Woe to you, O land, when your king is a child, and your princes feast in the morning! Woe to the land whose king was a servant and whose princes feast in the morning.
17 Happy 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. Happy are you, O land, when your king is the son of the nobility, and your princes feast at the proper time, for strength, and not for drunkenness! Blessed is the land whose king is of noble birth and whose princes eat at a proper time— for strength and not for drunkenness.
18 Laziness leads to a sagging roof; idleness leads to a leaky house. Through sloth the roof sinks in, and through indolence the house leaks. Through laziness, the rafters sag; because of idle hands, the house leaks.
19 A party gives laughter, wine gives happiness, and money gives everything! Bread is made for laughter, and wine gladdens life, and money answers everything. A feast is made for laughter, wine makes life merry, and money is the answer for everything.
20 Never 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. Even in your thoughts, do not curse the king, nor in your bedroom curse the rich, for a bird of the air will carry your voice, or some winged creature tell the matter. Do not revile the king even in your thoughts, or curse the rich in your bedroom, because a bird in the sky may carry your words, and a bird on the wing may report what you say.
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