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The Blue Letter Bible

Ecclesiastes 10 :: English Standard Version (ESV)

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Unchecked Copy BoxEcc 10:1 - Dead flies make the perfumer’s ointment give off a stench;
so a little folly outweighs wisdom and honor.
Unchecked Copy BoxEcc 10:2 - A wise man’s heart inclines him to the right,
but a fool’s heart to the left.
Unchecked Copy BoxEcc 10:3 - Even when the fool walks on the road, he lacks sense,
and he says to everyone that he is a fool.
Unchecked Copy BoxEcc 10:4 - If the anger of the ruler rises against you, do not leave your place,
for calmness[fn] will lay great offenses to rest.
Unchecked Copy BoxEcc 10:5 - There is an evil that I have seen under the sun, as it were an error proceeding from the ruler:
Unchecked Copy BoxEcc 10:6 - folly is set in many high places, and the rich sit in a low place.
Unchecked Copy BoxEcc 10:7 - I have seen slaves on horses, and princes walking on the ground like slaves.
Unchecked Copy BoxEcc 10:8 - He who digs a pit will fall into it,
and a serpent will bite him who breaks through a wall.
Unchecked Copy BoxEcc 10:9 - He who quarries stones is hurt by them,
and he who splits logs is endangered by them.
Unchecked Copy BoxEcc 10:10 - If the iron is blunt, and one does not sharpen the edge,
he must use more strength,
but wisdom helps one to succeed.[fn]
Unchecked Copy BoxEcc 10:11 - If the serpent bites before it is charmed,
there is no advantage to the charmer.
Unchecked Copy BoxEcc 10:12 - The words of a wise man’s mouth win him favor,[fn]
but the lips of a fool consume him.
Unchecked Copy BoxEcc 10:13 - The beginning of the words of his mouth is foolishness,
and the end of his talk is evil madness.
Unchecked Copy BoxEcc 10:14 - A fool multiplies words,
though no man knows what is to be,
and who can tell him what will be after him?
Unchecked Copy BoxEcc 10:15 - The toil of a fool wearies him,
for he does not know the way to the city.
Unchecked Copy BoxEcc 10:16 - Woe to you, O land, when your king is a child,
and your princes feast in the morning!
Unchecked Copy BoxEcc 10:17 - Happy are you, O land, when your king is the son of the nobility,
and your princes feast at the proper time,
for strength, and not for drunkenness!
Unchecked Copy BoxEcc 10:18 - Through sloth the roof sinks in,
and through indolence the house leaks.
Unchecked Copy BoxEcc 10:19 - Bread is made for laughter,
and wine gladdens life,
and money answers everything.
Unchecked Copy BoxEcc 10:20 - Even in your thoughts, do not curse the king,
nor in your bedroom curse the rich,
for a bird of the air will carry your voice,
or some winged creature tell the matter.
ESV Footnotes
Hebrew healing
Or wisdom is an advantage for success
Or are gracious
ESV

The Holy Bible, English Standard Version copyright © 2001, 2007, 2011, 2016 by Crossway Books and Bibles, a Publishing Ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

See detailed copyright information.

For more information on this translation, see the ESV Preface.

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Ecclesiastes Chapter 10 — Additional Translations: