10Ecclesiastes 10

1Dead flies can make a whole bottle of perfume stink, and a little stupidity can cancel out the greatest wisdom.Select Ecclesiastes 10:1

2It is natural for the wise to do the right thing and for fools to do the wrong thing.Select Ecclesiastes 10:2

3Their stupidity will be evident even to strangers they meet along the way; they let everyone know that they are fools.Select Ecclesiastes 10:3

4If your ruler becomes angry with you, do not hand in your resignation; serious wrongs may be pardoned if you keep calm.Select Ecclesiastes 10:4

5Here is an injustice I have seen in the world—an injustice caused by rulers.Select Ecclesiastes 10:5

6Stupid people are given positions of authority while the rich are ignored.Select Ecclesiastes 10:6

7I have seen slaves on horseback while noblemen go on foot like slaves.Select Ecclesiastes 10:7

8If you dig a pit, you fall in it; if you break through a wall, a snake bites you.Select Ecclesiastes 10:8

9If you work in a stone quarry, you get hurt by stones. If you split wood, you get hurt doing it.Select Ecclesiastes 10:9

10If your ax is dull and you don't sharpen it, you have to work harder to use it. It is smarter to plan ahead.Select Ecclesiastes 10:10

11Knowing how to charm a snake is of no use if you let the snake bite first.Select Ecclesiastes 10:11

12What the wise say brings them honor, but fools are destroyed by their own words.Select Ecclesiastes 10:12

13They start out with silly talk and end up with pure madness.Select Ecclesiastes 10:13

14A fool talks on and on. No one knows what is going to happen next, and no one can tell us what will happen after we die.Select Ecclesiastes 10:14

15Only someone too stupid to find his way home would wear himself out with work.Select Ecclesiastes 10:15

16A country is in trouble when its king is a youth and its leaders feast all night long.Select Ecclesiastes 10:16

17But a country is fortunate to have a king who makes his own decisions and leaders who eat at the proper time, who control themselves and don't get drunk.Select Ecclesiastes 10:17

18When you are too lazy to repair your roof, it will leak, and the house will fall in.Select Ecclesiastes 10:18

19Feasting makes you happy and wine cheers you up, but you can't have either without money.Select Ecclesiastes 10:19

20Don't criticize the king, even silently, and don't criticize the rich, even in the privacy of your bedroom. A bird might carry the message and tell them what you said.Select Ecclesiastes 10:20