Ecclesiastes 10 - English Standard Version (ESV)

10 Dead flies make (A)the perfumer's ointment give off a stench;
so a little folly outweighs wisdom and honor.
2 (B)A wise man's heart inclines him to the right,
but a fool's heart to the left.
3 Even when the fool walks on the road, he lacks sense,
and he (C)says to everyone that he is a fool.
4 If the anger of the ruler rises against you, (D)do not leave your place,
(E)for calmness[a] will lay great offenses to rest.

5 There is an evil that I have seen under the sun, as it were (F)an error proceeding from the ruler: 6 (G)folly is set in many high places, and the rich sit in a low place. 7 (H)I have seen slaves (I)on horses, and princes walking on the ground like slaves.

8 He who (J)digs a pit will fall into it,
and (K)a serpent will bite him who breaks through a wall.
9 (L)He who quarries stones is hurt by them,
and he who (M)splits logs is endangered by them.
10 If the iron is blunt, and one does not sharpen the edge,
he must use more strength,
but wisdom helps one to succeed.[b]
11 If the serpent bites before it is (N)charmed,
there is no advantage to the charmer.

12 The words of a wise man's mouth (O)win him favor,[c]
but (P)the lips of a fool consume him.
13 The beginning of the words of his mouth is foolishness,
and the end of his talk is evil madness.
14 (Q)A fool multiplies words,
though no man knows what is to be,
and who can tell him (R)what will be after him?
15 The toil of a fool wearies him,
for he does not know (S)the way to the city.

16 (T)Woe to you, O land, when your king is a child,
and your princes feast in the morning!
17 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 (U)drunkenness!
18 Through sloth the roof sinks in,
and through indolence the house leaks.
19 Bread is made for laughter,
and (V)wine gladdens life,
and (W)money answers everything.
20 Even in your thoughts, (X)do not curse the king,
nor in your (Y)bedroom curse the rich,
for a bird of the air will carry your voice,
or some winged creature tell the matter.

Footnotes

  1. Ecclesiastes 10:4 Hebrew healing
  2. Ecclesiastes 10:10 Or wisdom is an advantage for success
  3. Ecclesiastes 10:12 Or are gracious

Cross references

  1. Ecclesiastes 10:1 : Ex. 30:25
  2. Ecclesiastes 10:2 : [ch. 2:14]
  3. Ecclesiastes 10:3 : [Prov. 13:16; 18:2]
  4. Ecclesiastes 10:4 : [ch. 8:3]
  5. Ecclesiastes 10:4 : [1 Sam. 25:24, 32, 33]; See Prov. 25:15
  6. Ecclesiastes 10:5 : ch. 5:6
  7. Ecclesiastes 10:6 : [Esth. 3:1; Prov. 28:12; 29:2]
  8. Ecclesiastes 10:7 : Prov. 19:10; [Prov. 30:22]
  9. Ecclesiastes 10:7 : [Esth. 6:8]
  10. Ecclesiastes 10:8 : See Ps. 7:15
  11. Ecclesiastes 10:8 : Amos 5:19
  12. Ecclesiastes 10:9 : [1 Chr. 22:2]
  13. Ecclesiastes 10:9 : [Deut. 19:5]
  14. Ecclesiastes 10:11 : [Jer. 8:17]
  15. Ecclesiastes 10:12 : Prov. 10:32; 22:11; [Luke 4:22]
  16. Ecclesiastes 10:12 : See Prov. 18:7
  17. Ecclesiastes 10:14 : See Prov. 15:2
  18. Ecclesiastes 10:14 : See ch. 3:22
  19. Ecclesiastes 10:15 : [Isa. 35:8]
  20. Ecclesiastes 10:16 : Isa. 3:4, 12; [2 Chr. 13:7]
  21. Ecclesiastes 10:17 : [Prov. 31:4; Isa. 5:11]
  22. Ecclesiastes 10:19 : See Ps. 104:15
  23. Ecclesiastes 10:19 : [ch. 7:12]
  24. Ecclesiastes 10:20 : Ex. 22:28
  25. Ecclesiastes 10:20 : See 2 Kgs. 6:12; Luke 12:3

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Ecclesiastes 10 - Young's Literal Translation (YLT)

10 Dead flies cause a perfumer's perfume To send forth a stink; The precious by reason of wisdom -- By reason of honour -- a little folly! 2 The heart of the wise [is] at his right hand, And the heart of a fool at his left. 3 And also, when he that is a fool Is walking in the way, his heart is lacki...
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Ecclesiastes 10 - Wycliffe Bible (WYC)

10 Flies that die (in it), lose the sweetness of [the] ointment. A little folly at some time is more precious than wisdom and glory. (Flies that die in an ointment can destroy its sweetness. And so a little foolishness can sometimes destroy wisdom and glory.) 2 The heart of a wise man is in his righ...
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Ecclesiastes 10 - World English Bible (WEB)

10 Dead flies cause the oil of the perfumer to produce an evil odor; so does a little folly outweigh wisdom and honor.2 A wise man’s heart is at his right hand,but a fool’s heart at his left. 3 Yes also when the fool walks by the way, his understanding fails him, and he says to everyone that he is ...
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Ecclesiastes 10 - The Voice (VOICE)

10 Teacher: Remember the saying, Dead flies can spoil a good perfume. In the same way, all the wisdom and honor in the world cannot outweigh a moment’s folly.2 Wise people move to the right where they honor the goodness of God’s creation, while fools move to the left and choose to ignore it. Verse ...
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Ecclesiastes 10 - Tree of Life Version (TLV)

Wisdom and Folly10 Dead flies make a perfumer’s oil stink, so a little folly outweighs wisdom and honor.2 The heart of the wise is to his right, and the heart of the fool is to his left.3 Even as the fool walks along the way, his heart lacks sense and tells everyone what a fool he is. 4 If a ruler’s...
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Ecclesiastes 10 - Revised Standard Version (RSV)

Miscellaneous Observations10 Dead flies make the perfumer’s ointment give off an evil odor; so a little folly outweighs wisdom and honor.2 A wise man’s heart inclines him toward the right, but a fool’s heart toward the left.3 Even when the fool walks on the road, he lacks sense, and he says to every...
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Ecclesiastes 10 - New Revised Standard Version (NRSV)

Miscellaneous Observations10 Dead flies make the perfumer’s ointment give off a foul odor;[a] so a little folly outweighs wisdom and honor.2 The heart of the wise inclines to the right, but the heart of a fool to the left.3 Even when fools walk on the road, they lack sense and show to everyone that ...
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Ecclesiastes 10 - New Living Translation (NLT)

10 As dead flies cause even a bottle of perfume to stink, so a little foolishness spoils great wisdom and honor. 2 A wise person chooses the right road; a fool takes the wrong one. 3 You can identify fools just by the way they walk down the street! 4 If your boss is angry at you, don’t quit! A quiet...
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Ecclesiastes 10 - New Life Version (NLV)

10 Dead flies make a perfume maker’s oil smell bad. So does acting a little foolish weigh more than wisdom and honor. 2 A wise man’s heart leads him toward the right. But the foolish man’s heart leads him toward the left. 3 Even when the fool walks on the road, he has little understanding and show...
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Ecclesiastes 10 - New King James Version (NKJV)

Wisdom and Folly10 Dead[a] flies [b]putrefy the perfumer’s ointment,And cause it to give off a foul odor;So does a little folly to one respected for wisdom and honor.2 A wise man’s heart is at his right hand,But a fool’s heart at his left.3 Even when a fool walks along the way,He lacks wisdom,(A)And...
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Ecclesiastes 10 - New International Version - UK (NIVUK)

10 As dead flies give perfume a bad smell, so a little folly outweighs wisdom and honour.2 The heart of the wise inclines to the right, but the heart of the fool to the left.3 Even as fools walk along the road, they lack sense and show everyone how stupid they are.4 If a ruler’s anger rises against ...
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Ecclesiastes 10 - New International Version (NIV)

10 As dead flies give perfume a bad smell, so a little folly(A) outweighs wisdom and honor.2 The heart of the wise inclines to the right, but the heart of the fool to the left.3 Even as fools walk along the road, they lack sense and show everyone(B) how stupid they are.4 If a ruler’s anger rises aga...
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Ecclesiastes 10 - New International Reader's Version (NIRV)

10 Dead flies give perfume a bad smell. And a little foolishness can make a lot of wisdom useless.2 The hearts of wise people lead them on the right path. But the hearts of foolish people take them down the wrong path.3 Foolish people don’t have any sense at all. They show everyone they are foolish....
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Ecclesiastes 10 - New English Translation (NET)

10 One dead fly[a] makes the perfumer’s ointment give off a rancid stench,[b]so a little folly can outweigh[c] much wisdom.[d] Wisdom Can Be Nullified By the Caprice of Rulers2 A wise person’s good sense protects him,[e]but a fool’s lack of sense leaves him vulnerable.[f]3 Even when a fool walks al...
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