Ecclesiastes 10

¹    Dead flies in perfume make it stink, And a little foolishness decomposes much wisdom.

²    Wise thinking leads to right living;
   Stupid thinking leads to wrong living.

³    Fools on the road have no sense of direction.
   The way they walk tells the story: "There goes the fool again!"

⁴    If a ruler loses his temper against you, don't panic;
   A calm disposition quiets intemperate rage.

^5-7Here's a piece of bad business I've seen on this earth, An error that can be blamed on whoever is in charge:
   Immaturity is given a place of prominence,
   While maturity is made to take a backseat.
   I've seen unproven upstarts riding in style,
   While experienced veterans are put out to pasture.

⁸Caution: The trap you set might catch you.
   Warning: Your accomplice in crime might double-cross you.

⁹Safety first: Quarrying stones is dangerous.
   Be alert: Felling trees is hazardous.

¹⁰Remember: The duller the ax the harder the work;
   Use your head: The more brains, the less muscle.

¹¹If the snake bites before it's been charmed,
   What's the point in then sending for the charmer?

^12-13The words of a wise person are gracious.
   The talk of a fool self-destructs—
   He starts out talking nonsense
   And ends up spouting insanity and evil.

¹⁴    Fools talk way too much,
   Chattering stuff they know nothing about.

¹⁵    A decent day's work so fatigues fools
   That they can't find their way back to town.

^16-17Unlucky the land whose king is a young pup,
   And whose princes party all night.
   Lucky the land whose king is mature,
   Where the princes behave themselves
   And don't drink themselves silly.

¹⁸A shiftless man lives in a tumbledown shack;
   A lazy woman ends up with a leaky roof.

¹⁹    Laughter and bread go together,
   And wine gives sparkle to life—
   But it's money that makes the world go around.

²⁰    Don't bad-mouth your leaders, not even under your breath,
   And don't abuse your betters, even in the privacy of your home.
   Loose talk has a way of getting picked up and spread around.
   Little birds drop the crumbs of your gossip far and wide.