Ecclesiastes 10
1 Dead flies cause a perfumer's perfume To send forth a stink; The precious by reason of wisdom — By reason of honour — a little folly!
[A few] dead flies in [a bottle of] perfume cause [all] the perfume to stink. Similarly [SIM], a small amount of acting foolishly can have a greater effect than acting wisely.
2 The heart of the wise [is] at his right hand, And the heart of a fool at his left.
If people think sensibly, it will lead them to do what is right; if they think foolishly, it causes them to do what is wrong.
3 And also, when he that is a fool Is walking in the way, his heart is lacking, And he hath said to every one, 'He [is] a fool.'
Even while foolish people walk along the road, they show that they do not have good sense; they show everyone that they are not wise.
4 If the spirit of the ruler go up against thee, Thy place leave not, For yielding quieteth great sinners.
Do not quit working for a ruler when he is angry with you; if you remain calm, he will [probably] stop being angry.
5 There is an evil I have seen under the sun, As an error that goeth out from the ruler,
There is something [else] that I have seen here on this earth, something that rulers sometimes do that is wrong/inappropriate:
6 He hath set the fool in many high places, And the rich in a low place do sit.
They appoint foolish people to have important positions, while they appoint rich [people] to have unimportant positions.
7 I have seen servants on horses, And princes walking as servants on the earth.
They allow slaves [to ride] on horses [like rich people usually do], [but] they force officials to walk [like slaves usually do].
8 Whoso is digging a pit falleth into it, And whoso is breaking a hedge, a serpent biteth him.
[It is possible that] those who dig pits will fall into one of those pits. [It is possible that] someone who tears down a wall will be bitten by a snake [that is in that wall].
9 Whoso is removing stones is grieved by them, Whoso is cleaving trees endangered by them.
If you work in a quarry, [it is possible that] a stone [will fall on you and] injure you. [It is possible that] men who split logs will be injured by one of those logs.
10 If the iron hath been blunt, And he the face hath not sharpened, Then doth he increase strength, And wisdom [is] advantageous to make right.
If your axe is not sharp [DOU], you will need to work harder [to cut down a tree], but by being wise, you will succeed.
11 If the serpent biteth without enchantment, Then there is no advantage to a master of the tongue.
If a snake bites a man before he charms/tames it, his ability to charm snakes will not benefit him.
12 Words of the mouth of the wise [are] gracious, And the lips of a fool swallow him up.
Wise people say [MTY] what is sensible, and because of that, people honor them; but foolish people are destroyed by what they say [MTY].
13 The beginning of the words of his mouth [is] folly, And the latter end of his mouth [Is] mischievous madness.
When foolish people start to talk, they say things that are foolish, and they end by saying things that are both wicked and foolish.
14 And the fool multiplieth words: 'Man knoweth not that which is, And that which is after him, who doth declare to him?'
They talk (too much/without ceasing). None of us knows what will happen in the future, or what will happen after we die.
15 The labour of the foolish wearieth him, In that he hath not known to go unto the city.
Foolish people become [so] exhausted by the work that they do that they are unable to find the road to their town/homes.
16 Woe to thee, O land, when thy king [is] a youth, And thy princes do eat in the morning.
Terrible things will happen to the people of a nation whose ruler is a foolish young man, and whose [other] leaders continually eat, all day long, every day.
17 Happy art thou, O land, When thy king [is] a son of freemen, And thy princes do eat in due season, For might, and not for drunkenness.
[But] a nation will prosper if its ruler is from a (noble/well-educated) family, and if its [other] leaders feast [only] at the proper times, and [if they eat and drink only] to be strong, not to become drunk.
18 By slothfulness is the wall brought low, And by idleness of the hands doth the house drop.
Some men are very lazy [and do not repair the rafters], with the result that the rafters sag [and collapse]; and if they do not repair the roof, water will leak into the house [when it rains].
19 For mirth they are making a feast, And wine maketh life joyful, And the silver answereth with all.
Eating food and drinking wine causes us to laugh and be happy, [but] we are able to enjoy those things only if we have money [to buy them].
20 Even in thy mind a king revile not, And in the inner parts of thy bed-chamber Revile not the rich: For a fowl of the heavens causeth the voice to go, And a possessor of wings declareth the word.
Do not even think about cursing the king, or cursing rich [people, even] when you are [alone] in your bedroom, because [it is possible that] a little bird will hear [what you are saying], [and] tell those people what you said [about them].
