14 (A)A fool multiplies words,
    though no man knows what is to be,
    and who can tell him (B)what will be after him?
15 The toil of a fool wearies him,
    for he does not know (C)the way to the city.

16 (D)Woe to you, O land, when your king is a child,
    and your princes feast in the morning!
17 Happy are you, O land, when your king is the son of the nobility,
    and your princes feast at the proper time,
    for strength, and not for (E)drunkenness!
18 Through sloth the roof sinks in,
    and through indolence the house leaks.
19 Bread is made for laughter,
    and (F)wine gladdens life,
    and (G)money answers everything.

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14     and fools multiply words.(A)

No one knows what is coming—
    who can tell someone else what will happen after them?(B)

15 The toil of fools wearies them;
    they do not know the way to town.

16 Woe to the land whose king was a servant[a](C)
    and whose princes feast in the morning.
17 Blessed is the land whose king is of noble birth
    and whose princes eat at a proper time—
    for strength and not for drunkenness.(D)

18 Through laziness, the rafters sag;
    because of idle hands, the house leaks.(E)

19 A feast is made for laughter,
    wine(F) makes life merry,
    and money is the answer for everything.

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Footnotes

  1. Ecclesiastes 10:16 Or king is a child