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

THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®, NIV®
Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.®
Used by Permission of Biblica, Inc.® All rights reserved worldwide.

See detailed copyright information.

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