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Ecclesiastes 10-12
Easy-to-Read Version
Ecclesiastes 10-12
Easy-to-Read Version
10 A few dead flies will make even the best perfume stink. In the same way, a little foolishness can ruin much wisdom and honor.
2 The thoughts of the wise lead them the right way, but the thoughts of the foolish lead them the wrong way. 3 Fools show how foolish they are, just walking down the road. Their minds are empty, and everyone knows it.
4 Don’t quit your job simply because the boss is angry with you. If you remain calm and helpful, you can correct even great mistakes.[a]
5 Here is something else that I have seen in this life[b] that isn’t fair. It is the kind of mistake that rulers make. 6 Fools are given important positions, while the rich get jobs that are not important. 7 I have seen servants riding on horses, while rulers were walking beside them like slaves.
Every Job Has Its Dangers
8 If you dig a hole, you might fall into it. If you break down a wall, you might be bitten by a snake. 9 If you are moving large stones, you might be hurt by them. If you cut down a tree, you are in danger of it falling on you.
10 But wisdom will make any job easier. It is very hard to cut with a dull knife. But if you sharpen the knife, the job is easier.
11 Someone might know how to control snakes. But that skill is useless if a snake bites when that person is not around.
12 Words from the wise bring praise,
but words from a fool bring destruction.
13 Fools begin by saying something foolish. But in the end, they speak nonsense. 14 Fools are always talking about what they will do, but you never know what will happen. People cannot tell what will happen in the future.
15 Fools aren’t smart enough to find their way home,
so they must work hard all their lives.
The Value of Work
16 It is very bad for a country if the king is like a child. And it is very bad for a country if its rulers use all their time eating. 17 But it is very good for a country if the king comes from a good family.[c] And it is very good for a country if the rulers control their eating and drinking. They eat and drink to become strong, not to become drunk.
18 If someone is too lazy to work,
their house will begin to leak, and the roof will fall in.
19 People enjoy eating, and wine makes life happier. But money solves a lot of problems.
Gossip
20 Don’t say bad things about the king. Don’t even think bad things about him. And don’t say bad things about rich people, even if you are alone in your home. A little bird might fly and tell them everything you said.
Boldly Face the Future
11 Do good wherever you go.[d] After a while, the good you do will come back to you.
2 Invest what you have in several different things.[e] You don’t know what bad things might happen on earth.
3 There are some things you can be sure of. If clouds are full of rain, they will pour water on the earth. If a tree falls—to the south or to the north—then it will stay where it falls.
4 But there are some things that you cannot be sure of. You must take a chance. If you wait for perfect weather, you will never plant your seeds. If you are afraid that every cloud will bring rain, you will never harvest your crops.
5 You don’t know where the wind blows. And you don’t know how a baby grows in its mother’s womb. In the same way, you don’t know what God will do—and he makes everything happen.
6 So begin planting early in the morning, and don’t stop working until evening. You don’t know what might make you rich. Maybe everything you do will be successful.
7 It is good to be alive. It is nice to see the light from the sun. 8 You should enjoy every day of your life, no matter how long you live. But remember that you will die, and you will be dead much longer than you were alive. And after you are dead, you cannot do anything.
Serve God While You Are Young
9 So young people, enjoy yourselves while you are young. Be happy. Do whatever your heart leads you to do. Do whatever you want, but remember that God will judge you for everything you do. 10 Don’t let your anger control you, and don’t let your body lead you to sin.[f] People do foolish things in the dawn of life while they are young.
The Problems of Old Age
12 Remember your Creator while you are young, before the bad times come—before the years come when you say, “I have wasted my life.”[g]
2 Remember your Creator while you are young, before the time comes when the sun and the moon and the stars become dark to you—before problems come again and again like one storm after another.
3 At that time your arms will lose their strength. Your legs will become weak and bent. Your teeth will fall out, and you will not be able to chew your food. Your eyes will not see clearly. 4 You will become hard of hearing. You will not hear the noise in the streets. Even the stone grinding your grain will seem quiet to you. You will not be able to hear the women singing. But even the sound of a bird singing will wake you early in the morning because you will not be able to sleep.
5 You will be afraid of high places. You will be afraid of tripping over every small thing in your path. Your hair will become white like the flowers on an almond tree. You will drag yourself along like a grasshopper when you walk. You will lose your desire,[h] and then you will go to your eternal home. The mourners will gather in the streets as they carry your body to the grave.
Death
6 Remember your Creator while you are young,
before the silver rope snaps and the golden bowl is crushed
like a jar broken at the well,
like a stone cover on a well that breaks and falls in.
7 Your body came from the earth.
And when you die, it will return to the earth.
But your spirit came from God,
and when you die, it will return to him.
8 Everything is so meaningless. The Teacher says that it is all a waste of time![i]
Final Words of Advice
9 The Teacher was very wise. He used his wisdom to teach the people. He very carefully studied and arranged[j] many wise teachings. 10 The Teacher tried very hard to find the right words, and he wrote the teachings that are true and dependable.
11 Words from the wise are like sharp goads. When these sayings are written down and saved, they can be used to guide people, just as a shepherd uses a sharp stick to make his sheep go the right way. 12 So, son, study these sayings, but be careful about other teachings. People are always writing books, and too much study will make you very tired.
13-14 Now, what should we learn from everything that is written in this book?[k] The most important thing a person can do is to respect God and obey his commands, because he knows about everything people do—even the secret things. He knows about all the good and all the bad, and he will judge people for everything they do.
Footnotes
- Ecclesiastes 10:4 If you … great mistakes Literally, “A healer can put to rest great sins.” The word “healer” means a person who is forgiving and tries to help other people.
- Ecclesiastes 10:5 in this life Literally, “under the sun.”
- Ecclesiastes 10:17 comes from a good family Literally, “is a son of freedmen.” This is a person who was never a slave and whose parents were not slaves.
- Ecclesiastes 11:1 Do good … go Or “Throw your bread on the water.”
- Ecclesiastes 11:2 Invest … different things Or “Give a part to seven, or even eight.”
- Ecclesiastes 11:10 Don’t let … sin Or “Don’t worry about things. Protect yourself from troubles.”
- Ecclesiastes 12:1 I have wasted my life Literally, “I take no pleasure in them.” This might mean “I don’t like the things I did when I was young” or “I don’t enjoy life now that I am old.”
- Ecclesiastes 12:5 desire Or “appetite” or “sexual desire.” The Hebrew text here is hard to understand.
- Ecclesiastes 12:8 meaningless … a waste of time The Hebrew word means “vapor,” “breath,” or “something that is useless, meaningless, empty, wrong, or a waste of time.”
- Ecclesiastes 12:9 arranged This Hebrew word means “to make straight,” “arrange,” “correct,” or “edit.”
- Ecclesiastes 12:13 Now … book Literally, “The sum of the matter, when all is heard, is ….”
Ecclesiastes 10-12
New International Version
Ecclesiastes 10-12
New International Version
10 As dead flies give perfume a bad smell,
so a little folly(A) outweighs wisdom and honor.
2 The heart of the wise inclines to the right,
but the heart of the fool to the left.
3 Even as fools walk along the road,
they lack sense
and show everyone(B) how stupid they are.
4 If a ruler’s anger rises against you,
do not leave your post;(C)
calmness can lay great offenses to rest.(D)
5 There is an evil I have seen under the sun,
the sort of error that arises from a ruler:
6 Fools are put in many high positions,(E)
while the rich occupy the low ones.
7 I have seen slaves on horseback,
while princes go on foot like slaves.(F)
8 Whoever digs a pit may fall into it;(G)
whoever breaks through a wall may be bitten by a snake.(H)
9 Whoever quarries stones may be injured by them;
whoever splits logs may be endangered by them.(I)
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.(J)
12 Words from the mouth of the wise are gracious,(K)
but fools are consumed by their own lips.(L)
13 At the beginning their words are folly;
at the end they are wicked madness—
14 and fools multiply words.(M)
No one knows what is coming—
who can tell someone else what will happen after them?(N)
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](O)
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.(P)
18 Through laziness, the rafters sag;
because of idle hands, the house leaks.(Q)
19 A feast is made for laughter,
wine(R) makes life merry,
and money is the answer for everything.
20 Do not revile the king(S) even in your thoughts,
or curse the rich in your bedroom,
because a bird in the sky may carry your words,
and a bird on the wing may report what you say.
Invest in Many Ventures
11 Ship(T) your grain across the sea;
after many days you may receive a return.(U)
2 Invest in seven ventures, yes, in eight;
you do not know what disaster may come upon the land.
3 If clouds are full of water,
they pour rain on the earth.
Whether a tree falls to the south or to the north,
in the place where it falls, there it will lie.
4 Whoever watches the wind will not plant;
whoever looks at the clouds will not reap.
5 As you do not know the path of the wind,(V)
or how the body is formed[b] in a mother’s womb,(W)
so you cannot understand the work of God,
the Maker of all things.
6 Sow your seed in the morning,
and at evening let your hands not be idle,(X)
for you do not know which will succeed,
whether this or that,
or whether both will do equally well.
Remember Your Creator While Young
7 Light is sweet,
and it pleases the eyes to see the sun.(Y)
8 However many years anyone may live,
let them enjoy them all.
But let them remember(Z) the days of darkness,
for there will be many.
Everything to come is meaningless.
9 You who are young, be happy while you are young,
and let your heart give you joy in the days of your youth.
Follow the ways of your heart
and whatever your eyes see,
but know that for all these things
God will bring you into judgment.(AA)
10 So then, banish anxiety(AB) from your heart
and cast off the troubles of your body,
for youth and vigor are meaningless.(AC)
12 Remember(AD) your Creator
in the days of your youth,
before the days of trouble(AE) come
and the years approach when you will say,
“I find no pleasure in them”—
2 before the sun and the light
and the moon and the stars grow dark,
and the clouds return after the rain;
3 when the keepers of the house tremble,
and the strong men stoop,
when the grinders cease because they are few,
and those looking through the windows grow dim;
4 when the doors to the street are closed
and the sound of grinding fades;
when people rise up at the sound of birds,
but all their songs grow faint;(AF)
5 when people are afraid of heights
and of dangers in the streets;
when the almond tree blossoms
and the grasshopper drags itself along
and desire no longer is stirred.
Then people go to their eternal home(AG)
and mourners(AH) go about the streets.
6 Remember him—before the silver cord is severed,
and the golden bowl is broken;
before the pitcher is shattered at the spring,
and the wheel broken at the well,
7 and the dust returns(AI) to the ground it came from,
and the spirit returns to God(AJ) who gave it.(AK)
The Conclusion of the Matter
9 Not only was the Teacher wise, but he also imparted knowledge to the people. He pondered and searched out and set in order many proverbs.(AN) 10 The Teacher(AO) searched to find just the right words, and what he wrote was upright and true.(AP)
11 The words of the wise are like goads, their collected sayings like firmly embedded nails(AQ)—given by one shepherd.[d] 12 Be warned, my son, of anything in addition to them.
Of making many books there is no end, and much study wearies the body.(AR)
Footnotes
- Ecclesiastes 10:16 Or king is a child
- Ecclesiastes 11:5 Or know how life (or the spirit) / enters the body being formed
- Ecclesiastes 12:8 Or the leader of the assembly; also in verses 9 and 10
- Ecclesiastes 12:11 Or Shepherd
Easy-to-Read Version (ERV)
Copyright © 2006 by Bible League International
New International Version (NIV) 
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