⁷ I have seen slaves on horseback,
    while princes go on foot like slaves.^(A)

⁸ Whoever digs a pit may fall into it;^(B)
    whoever breaks through a wall may be bitten by a snake.^(C)
9 Whoever quarries stones may be injured by them;
    whoever splits logs may be endangered by them.^(D)

¹⁰ If the ax is dull
    and its edge unsharpened,
more strength is needed,
    but skill will bring success.

¹¹ If a snake bites before it is charmed,
    the charmer receives no fee.^(E)

¹² Words from the mouth of the wise are gracious,^(F)
    but fools are consumed by their own lips.^(G)
13 At the beginning their words are folly;
    at the end they are wicked madness—
¹⁴     and fools multiply words.^(H)

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

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](J)
    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.^(K)

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