Ecclesiastes 10 :: New International Version (NIV)

Ecc 10:1

Ecc 10:1As dead flies give perfume a bad smell, so a little folly outweighs wisdom and honor.

Ecc 10:2

Ecc 10:2The heart of the wise inclines to the right, but the heart of the fool to the left.

Ecc 10:3

Ecc 10:3Even as fools walk along the road, they lack sense and show everyone how stupid they are.

Ecc 10:4

Ecc 10:4If a ruler’s anger rises against you, do not leave your post; calmness can lay great offenses to rest.

Ecc 10:5

Ecc 10:5There is an evil I have seen under the sun, the sort of error that arises from a ruler:

Ecc 10:6

Ecc 10:6Fools are put in many high positions, while the rich occupy the low ones.

Ecc 10:7

Ecc 10:7I have seen slaves on horseback, while princes go on foot like slaves.

Ecc 10:8

Ecc 10:8Whoever digs a pit may fall into it; whoever breaks through a wall may be bitten by a snake.

Ecc 10:9

Ecc 10:9Whoever quarries stones may be injured by them; whoever splits logs may be endangered by them.

Ecc 10:10

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

Ecc 10:11

Ecc 10:11If a snake bites before it is charmed, the charmer receives no fee.

Ecc 10:12

Ecc 10:12Words from the mouth of the wise are gracious, but fools are consumed by their own lips.

Ecc 10:13

Ecc 10:13At the beginning their words are folly; at the end they are wicked madness—

Ecc 10:14

Ecc 10:14and fools multiply words. No one knows what is coming— who can tell someone else what will happen after them?

Ecc 10:15

Ecc 10:15The toil of fools wearies them; they do not know the way to town.

Ecc 10:16

Ecc 10:16Woe to the land whose king was a servant[fn] and whose princes feast in the morning.

Ecc 10:17

Ecc 10:17Blessed is the land whose king is of noble birth and whose princes eat at a proper time— for strength and not for drunkenness.

Ecc 10:18

Ecc 10:18Through laziness, the rafters sag; because of idle hands, the house leaks.

Ecc 10:19

Ecc 10:19A feast is made for laughter, wine makes life merry, and money is the answer for everything.

Ecc 10:20

Ecc 10:20Do 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.

See the NIV Preface (Especially for Parenthesis, Brackets, & Asterisks).

NIV Footnotes

(10:16)

Or king is a child

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

Ecclesiastes Chapter 10 — Additional Translations:

King James Version New King James Version New Living Translation 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

Ecclesiastes 10 :: New International Version (NIV)

NIV Footnotes

Ecclesiastes Chapter 10 — Additional Translations:

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