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The Blue Letter Bible

Ecclesiastes 10 :: New King James Version (NKJV)

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CHAPTER 10
Wisdom and Folly
​
1 Dead flies putrefy[fn] 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,
​​And he shows everyone that he is a fool.
4 ​​If the spirit of the ruler rises against you,
​​Do not leave your post;
​​For conciliation pacifies great offenses.
​
5 ​​There is an evil I have seen under the sun,
​​As an error proceeding from the ruler:
6 ​​Folly is set in great dignity,
​​While the rich sit in a lowly place.
7 ​​I have seen servants on horses,
​​While princes walk on the ground like servants.
​
8 ​​He who digs a pit will fall into it,
​​And whoever breaks through a wall will be bitten by a serpent.
9 ​​He who quarries stones may be hurt by them,
​​And he who splits wood may be endangered by it.
10 ​​If the ax is dull,
​​And one does not sharpen the edge,
​​Then he must use more strength;
​​But wisdom brings success.
​
11 ​​A serpent may bite when it is not charmed;
​​The babbler is no different.
12 ​​The words of a wise man’s mouth are gracious,
​​But the lips of a fool shall swallow him up;
13 ​​The words of his mouth begin with foolishness,
​​And the end of his talk is raving madness.
14 ​​A fool also multiplies words.
​​No man knows what is to be;
​​Who can tell him what will be after him?
15 ​​The labor of fools wearies them,
​​For they do not even know how to go to the city!
​
16 ​​Woe to you, O land, when your king is a child,
​​And your princes feast in the morning!
17 ​​Blessed are you, O land, when your king is the son of nobles,
​​And your princes feast at the proper time—
​​For strength and not for drunkenness!
18 ​​Because of laziness the building decays,
​​And through idleness of hands the house leaks.
19 ​​A feast is made for laughter,
​​And wine makes merry;
​​But money answers everything.
​
20 ​​Do not curse the king, even in your thought;
​​Do not curse the rich, even in your bedroom;
​​For a bird of the air may carry your voice,
​​And a bird in flight may tell the matter.
See the NKJV Preface (Especially for Parenthesis, Brackets, & Asterisks).
NKJV Footnotes
Targum and Vulgate omit putrefy.
NKJV

New King James Version, © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. All rights reserved. Used by permission.

The text of the New King James Version (NKJV) appearing on or deriving from this or any other web page is for personal use only. Any other use of the NKJV must be in conformity with the Quotation Policy for the New King James Version. For more information about the New King James Version, the Quotation Policy, and for inquiries about permission to use the New King James Version, go to Thomas Nelson, Inc..

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

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Ecclesiastes Chapter 10 — Additional Translations:

King James Version New Living Translation New International Version English Standard Version Christian Standard Bible New American Standard Bible 2020 New American Standard Bible 1995 Legacy Standard Bible Amplified Bible New English Translation Revised Standard Version American Standard Version Young's Literal Translation Darby Translation Webster's Bible Hebrew Names Version Latin Vulgate Westminster Leningrad Codex Septuagint Smith Van Dyck Arabic Bible Open New Arabic Version Brenton's English Septuagint Reina Valera 1909 Reina-Valera 1960 Bible in Basic English Chinese Traditional Union Espanol Moderno Korean Holy Bible Louis Segond German Luther Russian Synodal Translation Sagradas Escrituras