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¹ As dead flies give perfume a bad smell, so a little folly 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 how stupid they are.

⁴ If a ruler’s anger rises against you, do not leave your post; calmness can lay great offenses to rest.

⁵ There is an evil I have seen under the sun, the sort of error that arises from a ruler:

⁶ Fools are put in many high positions, while the rich occupy the low ones.

⁷ I have seen slaves on horseback, while princes go on foot like slaves.

⁸ Whoever digs a pit may fall into it; whoever breaks through a wall may be bitten by a snake.

⁹ Whoever quarries stones may be injured by them; whoever splits logs may be endangered by them.

¹⁰ If the ax is dull and its edge unsharpened, more strength is needed, but skill will bring success.

¹¹ If a snake bites before it is charmed, the charmer receives no fee.

¹² Words from the mouth of the wise are gracious, but fools are consumed by their own lips.

¹³ At the beginning their words are folly; at the end they are wicked madness—

¹⁴ and fools multiply words. No one knows what is coming— who can tell someone else what will happen after them?

¹⁵ The toil of fools wearies them; they do not know the way to town.

¹⁶ Woe to the land whose king was a servant Or king is a child and whose princes feast in the morning.

¹⁷ 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 Through laziness, the rafters sag; because of idle hands, the house leaks.

¹⁹ A feast is made for laughter, wine makes life merry, and money is the answer for everything. ²⁰ 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.