Ecclesiastes 10 :: New Living Translation (NLT)

Ecc 10:1

Ecc 10:1As dead flies cause even a bottle of perfume to stink,
so a little foolishness spoils great wisdom and honor.

Ecc 10:2

Ecc 10:2A wise person chooses the right road;
a fool takes the wrong one.

Ecc 10:3

Ecc 10:3You can identify fools
just by the way they walk down the street!

Ecc 10:4

Ecc 10:4If your boss is angry at you, don’t quit!
A quiet spirit can overcome even great mistakes.

The Ironies of Life

Ecc 10:5

Ecc 10:5There is another evil I have seen under the sun. Kings and rulers make a grave mistake

Ecc 10:6

Ecc 10:6when they give great authority to foolish people and low positions to people of proven worth.

Ecc 10:7

Ecc 10:7I have even seen servants riding horseback like princes—and princes walking like servants!

Ecc 10:8

Ecc 10:8When you dig a well,
you might fall in.
When you demolish an old wall,
you could be bitten by a snake.

Ecc 10:9

Ecc 10:9When you work in a quarry,
stones might fall and crush you.
When you chop wood,
there is danger with each stroke of your ax.

Ecc 10:10

Ecc 10:10Using a dull ax requires great strength,
so sharpen the blade.
That’s the value of wisdom;
it helps you succeed.

Ecc 10:11

Ecc 10:11If a snake bites before you charm it,
what’s the use of being a snake charmer?

Ecc 10:12

Ecc 10:12Wise words bring approval,
but fools are destroyed by their own words.

Ecc 10:13

Ecc 10:13Fools base their thoughts on foolish assumptions,
so their conclusions will be wicked madness;

Ecc 10:14

Ecc 10:14they chatter on and on.
No one really knows what is going to happen;
no one can predict the future.

Ecc 10:15

Ecc 10:15Fools are so exhausted by a little work
that they can’t even find their way home.

Ecc 10:16

Ecc 10:16What sorrow for the land ruled by a servant,[fn]
the land whose leaders feast in the morning.

Ecc 10:17

Ecc 10:17Happy is the land whose king is a noble leader
and whose leaders feast at the proper time
to gain strength for their work, not to get drunk.

Ecc 10:18

Ecc 10:18Laziness leads to a sagging roof;
idleness leads to a leaky house.

Ecc 10:19

Ecc 10:19A party gives laughter,
wine gives happiness,
and money gives everything!

Ecc 10:20

Ecc 10:20Never make light of the king, even in your thoughts.
And don’t make fun of the powerful, even in your own bedroom.
For a little bird might deliver your message
and tell them what you said.

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

NLT Footnotes

(10:16)

Or a child.

Full copyright information is provided here. Visit the New Living Translation website.

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