Ecclesiastes 10 - Evangelical Heritage Version (EHV)

10 Dead flies make perfumed oil ferment and stink, just as a little stupidity outweighs wisdom and honor.

2 A wise man’s heart heads right, but a fool’s heart heads left.

3 Even when a fool is walking down the road, he does not know where he is going, and he advertises to everyone that he is a fool.

4 If a ruler’s anger rises against you, do not abandon your post, because keeping calm puts serious sins to rest.

5 There is an evil I have seen under the sun. What a mistake rulers make! 6 Stupidity is placed in many high places, but the rich are seated in low positions. 7 I have seen slaves on horses, while princes walk on the ground like slaves.

8 A person who digs a pit might fall into it, and one who breaks through a wall might be bitten by a snake.

9 A person who quarries stones may be hurt by them. Someone who splits logs may be endangered by them.

10 If the ax is dull and no one sharpens its edge, the person chopping must apply more strength, but an advantage of wisdom is that it gives success.

11 If the snake bites before it is charmed, there is no advantage to having a charmer.[a]

12 Words from a wise man’s mouth bring favor, but a fool’s lips swallow him up.

13 The fool starts out by saying stupid things, but he ends up speaking wicked madness. 14 The fool multiplies words.

No one knows what will be in the future, and who can tell him what will come after him?

15 The hard work of fools wears them out so much that they no longer know their way to town.[b]

16 How unfortunate you are, O land, when your king once was a servant,[c] and your officials overeat in the morning. 17 How blessed you are, O land, when your king is a son of nobles, and your officials eat at the right time—to get stronger, not to get drunk.

18 Because of laziness, roof beams sag. Because of idle hands, the house leaks.

19 Food is made for pleasure. Wine makes life happy, but money is the answer for everything.

20 Do not curse the king even in your thoughts, and do not curse a rich person in your bedroom, for a bird in the skies might carry your voice, or a bird in flight might reveal the matter.

Footnotes

  1. Ecclesiastes 10:11 The Hebrew expression for snake charmer is master of the tongue, so in Hebrew there is a connection between this proverb and the proverbs that follow, which is not apparent in English.
  2. Ecclesiastes 10:15 Or because they do not even know the way to town
  3. Ecclesiastes 10:16 Or is a boy

You Might Also Like:

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...
Read More

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...
Read More

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 ...
Read More

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 ...
Read More

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...
Read More

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...
Read More

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 ...
Read More

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...
Read More

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...
Read More

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...
Read More

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 ...
Read More

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...
Read More

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....
Read More

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...
Read More