Ecclesiastes 10:8-11

New King James Version

⁸^(A)He who digs a pit will fall into it,
And whoever breaks through a wall will be bitten by a serpent.
⁹He who quarries stones may be hurt by them,
And he who splits wood may be endangered by it.
¹⁰If the ax is dull,
And one does not sharpen the edge,
Then he must use more strength;
But wisdom ^[a]brings success.

¹¹A serpent may bite ^(B)when it is not charmed;
The ^[b]babbler is no different.
¹²^(C)The words of a wise man’s mouth are gracious,
But ^(D)the lips of a fool shall swallow him up;
¹³The words of his mouth begin with foolishness,
And the end of his talk is raving madness.
¹⁴^(E)A fool also multiplies words.
No man knows what is to be;
Who can tell him ^(F)what will be after him?
¹⁵The labor of fools wearies them,
For they do not even know how to go to the city!

¹⁶^(G)Woe to you, O land, when your king is a child,
And your princes feast in the morning!
¹⁷Blessed are you, O land, when your king is the son of nobles,
And your ^(H)princes feast at the proper time—
For strength and not for drunkenness!
¹⁸Because of laziness the ^[c]building decays,
And ^(I)through idleness of hands the house leaks.
¹⁹A feast is made for laughter,
And ^(J)wine makes merry;
But money answers everything.

²⁰^(K)Do not curse the king, even in your thought;
Do not curse the rich, even in your bedroom;
For a bird of the air may carry your voice,
And a bird in flight may tell the matter.

The Value of Diligence

11 Cast your bread ^(L)upon the waters,
^(M)For you will find it after many days.
²^(N)Give a serving ^(O)to seven, and also to eight,
^(P)For you do not know what evil will be on the earth.

³If the clouds are full of rain,
They empty themselves upon the earth;
And if a tree falls to the south or the north,
In the place where the tree falls, there it shall lie.
⁴He who observes the wind will not sow,
And he who regards the clouds will not reap.

⁵As ^(Q)you do not know what is the way of the ^[d]wind,
^(R)Or how the bones grow in the womb of her who is with child,
So you do not know the works of God who makes everything.
⁶In the morning sow your seed,
And in the evening do not withhold your hand;
For you do not know which will prosper,
Either this or that,
Or whether both alike will be good.

⁷Truly the light is sweet,
And it is pleasant for the eyes ^(S)to behold the sun;
⁸But if a man lives many years
And ^(T)rejoices in them all,
Yet let him ^(U)remember the days of darkness,
For they will be many.
All that is coming is vanity.