Ecclesiastes 10 - New American Standard Bible (NASB)

A Little Foolishness

10 Dead flies turn a (A)perfumer’s oil rancid, so a little foolishness is more [a]potent than wisdom and honor. 2 A wise person’s heart directs him toward the right, but the foolish (B)person’s heart directs him toward the left. 3 Even when the fool walks along the road, his [b]sense is lacking, and he [c](C)demonstrates to everyone that he is a fool. 4 If the ruler’s [d]temper rises against you, (D)do not abandon your place, because (E)composure puts great offenses to rest.

5 There is an evil I have seen under the sun, like a mistake that proceeds from the ruler: 6 (F)foolishness is set in many exalted places while the rich sit in humble places. 7 I have seen (G)slaves riding (H)on horses and princes walking like slaves on the land.

8 (I)One who digs a pit may fall into it, and a (J)serpent may bite one who breaks through a wall. 9 One who quarries stones may be hurt by them, and one who splits logs may be endangered by them. 10 If the [e]axe is dull and he does not sharpen its [f]edge, then he must exert more strength. Wisdom has the advantage of bringing success. 11 If the serpent bites [g](K)before being charmed, there is no benefit for the charmer. 12 (L)Words from the mouth of a wise person are gracious, while the lips of a (M)fool consume him; 13 the beginning of [h]his talking is foolishness, and the end of [i]it is evil (N)insanity. 14 Yet the (O)fool multiplies words. No person knows what will happen, and who can tell him (P)what will come after him? 15 The labor of [j]a fool makes him so weary that he does not even know how to go to a city. 16 Woe to you, land whose (Q)king is a boy, and whose princes [k]feast in the morning. 17 Blessed are you, land whose king is of nobility, and whose princes eat at the appropriate time—for strength and not for (R)drunkenness. 18 Through (S)extreme laziness the rafters sag, and through idleness the house leaks. 19 People prepare a meal for enjoyment, (T)wine makes life joyful, and (U)money [l]is the answer to everything. 20 Furthermore, (V)in your bedroom do not (W)curse a king, and in your sleeping rooms do not curse a rich person; for a bird of the sky will bring the sound, and the winged one will make your word known.

Footnotes

  1. Ecclesiastes 10:1 Lit costly
  2. Ecclesiastes 10:3 Lit heart
  3. Ecclesiastes 10:3 Lit says
  4. Ecclesiastes 10:4 Lit spirit
  5. Ecclesiastes 10:10 Lit iron
  6. Ecclesiastes 10:10 Lit faces
  7. Ecclesiastes 10:11 Lit with no incantation
  8. Ecclesiastes 10:13 Lit the words of his mouth
  9. Ecclesiastes 10:13 Lit his mouth
  10. Ecclesiastes 10:15 Lit fools make
  11. Ecclesiastes 10:16 Lit eat
  12. Ecclesiastes 10:19 Lit answers all

Cross references

  1. Ecclesiastes 10:1 : Ex 30:25
  2. Ecclesiastes 10:2 : Matt 6:33; Col 3:1
  3. Ecclesiastes 10:3 : Prov 13:16; 18:2
  4. Ecclesiastes 10:4 : Eccl 8:3
  5. Ecclesiastes 10:4 : 1 Sam 25:24-33; Prov 25:15
  6. Ecclesiastes 10:6 : Esth 3:1, 5f; Prov 28:12; 29:2
  7. Ecclesiastes 10:7 : Prov 19:10
  8. Ecclesiastes 10:7 : Esth 6:8-10
  9. Ecclesiastes 10:8 : Ps 7:15; Prov 26:27
  10. Ecclesiastes 10:8 : Amos 5:19
  11. Ecclesiastes 10:11 : Ps 58:4, 5; Jer 8:17
  12. Ecclesiastes 10:12 : Prov 10:32; 22:11; Luke 4:22
  13. Ecclesiastes 10:12 : Prov 10:14; 18:7; Eccl 4:5
  14. Ecclesiastes 10:13 : Eccl 7:25
  15. Ecclesiastes 10:14 : Prov 15:2; Eccl 5:3
  16. Ecclesiastes 10:14 : Eccl 3:22; 6:12; 7:14; 8:7
  17. Ecclesiastes 10:16 : Is 3:4, 12
  18. Ecclesiastes 10:17 : Prov 31:4; Is 5:11
  19. Ecclesiastes 10:18 : Prov 24:30-34
  20. Ecclesiastes 10:19 : Judg 9:13; Ps 104:15; Eccl 2:3
  21. Ecclesiastes 10:19 : Eccl 7:12
  22. Ecclesiastes 10:20 : 2 Kin 6:12; Luke 12:3
  23. Ecclesiastes 10:20 : Ex 22:28; Acts 23:5

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