A Little Foolishness

10 Dead flies make a perfumer’s oil stink, so a little foolishness is weightier than wisdom and honor. ² A wise man’s heart directs him toward the right, but the foolish man’s heart directs him toward the left. ³ Even when the fool walks along the road, his ^[a]sense is lacking and he ^[b]demonstrates to everyone that he is a fool. ⁴ If the ruler’s ^[c]temper rises against you, do not abandon your position, because composure allays great offenses.

⁵ There is an evil I have seen under the sun, like an error which goes forth from the ruler— ⁶ folly is set in many exalted places while rich men sit in humble places. ⁷ I have seen slaves riding on horses and princes walking like slaves on the land.

⁸ He who digs a pit may fall into it, and a serpent may bite him who breaks through a wall. ⁹ He who quarries stones may be hurt by them, and he who splits logs may be endangered by them. ¹⁰ If the ^[d]axe is dull and he does not sharpen its edge, then he must ^[e]exert more strength. Wisdom has the advantage of giving success. ¹¹ If the serpent bites ^[f]before being charmed, there is no profit for the charmer. ¹² Words from the mouth of a wise man are gracious, while the lips of a fool consume him; ¹³ the beginning of ^[g]his talking is folly and the end of ^[h]it is wicked madness. ¹⁴ Yet the fool multiplies words. No man knows what will happen, and who can tell him what will come after him? ¹⁵ The toil of ^[i]a fool so wearies him that he does not even know how to go to a city. ¹⁶ Woe to you, O land, whose king is a lad and whose princes ^[j]feast in the morning. ¹⁷ Blessed are you, O land, whose king is of nobility and whose princes eat at the appropriate time—for strength and not for drunkenness. ¹⁸ Through indolence the rafters sag, and through slackness the house leaks. ¹⁹ Men prepare a meal for enjoyment, and wine makes life merry, and money ^[k]is the answer to everything. ²⁰ Furthermore, in your bedchamber do not curse a king, and in your sleeping rooms do not curse a rich man, for a bird of the heavens will carry the sound and the winged creature will make the matter known.