Ecclesiastes 10
1 Dead flies cause a perfumer’s perfume To send forth a stink; The precious by reason of wisdom—By reason of honor—a little folly!
Flies `that dien, leesen the swetnesse of oynement. Litil foli at a tyme is preciousere than wisdom and glorie.
2 The heart of the wise [is] at his right hand, And the heart of a fool at his left.
The herte of a wijs man is in his riyt side; and the herte of a fool is in his left side.
3 And also, when he that is a fool Is walking in the way, his heart is lacking, And he has said to everyone, “He [is] a fool.”
But also a fool goynge in the weie, whanne he is vnwijs, gessith alle men foolis.
4 If the spirit of the ruler goes up against you, do not leave your place, For yielding quiets great sinners.
If the spirit of hym, that hath power, stieth on thee, forsake thou not thi place; for heeling schal make gretteste synnes to ceesse.
5 There is an evil I have seen under the sun, As ignorance that goes out from the ruler,
An yuel is, which Y siy vndur the sunne, and goith out as bi errour fro the face of the prince; a fool set in hiy dignyte,
6 He has set the fool in many high places, And the rich sits in a low place.
and riche men sitte bynethe.
7 I have seen servants on horses, And princes walking as servants on the earth.
I siy seruauntis on horsis, and princes as seruauntis goynge on the erthe.
8 Whoever is digging a pit falls into it, And whoever is breaking a hedge, a serpent bites him.
He that diggith a diche, schal falle in to it; and an eddre schal bite hym, that distrieth an hegge.
9 Whoever is removing stones is grieved by them, Whoever is cleaving trees endangered by them.
He that berith ouer stoonys, schal be turmentid in tho; and he that kittith trees, schal be woundid of tho.
10 If the iron has been blunt, And he has not sharpened the face, Then he increases strength, And wisdom [is] advantageous to make right.
If yrun is foldid ayen, and this is not as bifore, but is maad blunt, it schal be maad scharp with myche trauel; and wisdom schal sue aftir bisynesse.
11 If the serpent bites without enchantment, Then there is no advantage to a master of the tongue.
If a serpent bitith, it bitith in silence; he that bacbitith priueli, hath no thing lesse than it.
12 Words of the mouth of the wise [are] gracious, And the lips of a fool swallow him up.
The wordis of the mouth of a wijs man is grace; and the lippis of an vnwijs man schulen caste hym doun.
13 The beginning of the words of his mouth [is] folly, And the latter end of his mouth [Is] mischievous madness.
The bigynnyng of hise wordis is foli; and the laste thing of his mouth is the worste errour.
14 And the fool multiplies words: “Man does not know that which is—And that which is after him, who declares to him?”
A fool multiplieth wordis; a man noot, what was bifore hym, and who mai schewe to hym that, that schal come aftir hym?
15 The labor of the foolish wearies him, In that he has not known to go to the city.
The trauel of foolis shal turment hem, that kunnen not go in to the citee.
16 Woe to you, O land, when your king [is] a youth, And your princes eat in the morning.
Lond, wo to thee, whos kyng is a child, and whose princes eten eerli.
17 Blessed are you, O land, When your king [is] a son of nobles, And your princes eat in due season, For might, and not for drunkenness.
Blessid is the lond, whos kyng is noble; and whose princis eten in her tyme, to susteyne the kynde, and not to waste.
18 By slothfulness is the wall brought low, And by idleness of the hands the house drops.
The hiynesse of housis schal be maad low in slouthis; and the hous schal droppe in the feblenesse of hondis.
19 For mirth they are making a feast, And wine makes life joyful, And the silver answers with all.
In leiyyng thei disposen breed and wyn, that thei drynkynge ete largeli; and alle thingis obeien to monei.
20 Even in your mind do not revile a king, And in the inner parts of your bed-chamber do not revile the rich: For a bird of the heavens causes the voice to go, And a possessor of wings declares the word.
In thi thouyt bacbite thou not the kyng, and in the priuete of thi bed, curse thou not a riche man; for the briddis of heuene schulen bere thi vois, and he that hath pennys, schal telle the sentence.
