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Ecclesiastes 9:11-10:20
New King James Version
Ecclesiastes 9:11-10:20
New King James Version
11 I returned (A)and saw under the sun that—
The race is not to the swift,
Nor the battle to the strong,
Nor bread to the wise,
Nor riches to men of understanding,
Nor favor to men of skill;
But time and (B)chance happen to them all.
12 For (C)man also does not know his time:
Like fish taken in a cruel net,
Like birds caught in a snare,
So the sons of men are (D)snared in an evil time,
When it falls suddenly upon them.
Wisdom Superior to Folly
13 This wisdom I have also seen under the sun, and it seemed great to me: 14 (E)There was a little city with few men in it; and a great king came against it, besieged it, and built great [a]snares around it. 15 Now there was found in it a poor wise man, and he by his wisdom delivered the city. Yet no one remembered that same poor man.
16 Then I said:
“Wisdom is better than (F)strength.
Nevertheless (G)the poor man’s wisdom is despised,
And his words are not heard.
17 Words of the wise, spoken quietly, should be heard
Rather than the shout of a ruler of fools.
18 Wisdom is better than weapons of war;
But (H)one sinner destroys much good.”
Wisdom and Folly
10 Dead[b] flies [c]putrefy the perfumer’s ointment,
And cause it to give off a foul odor;
So does a little folly to one respected for wisdom and honor.
2 A wise man’s heart is at his right hand,
But a fool’s heart at his left.
3 Even when a fool walks along the way,
He lacks wisdom,
(I)And he shows everyone that he is a fool.
4 If the spirit of the ruler rises against you,
(J)Do not leave your post;
For (K)conciliation[d] pacifies great offenses.
5 There is an evil I have seen under the sun,
As an error proceeding from the ruler:
6 (L)Folly is set in [e]great dignity,
While the rich sit in a lowly place.
7 I have seen servants (M)on horses,
While princes walk on the ground like servants.
8 (N)He who digs a pit will fall into it,
And whoever breaks through a wall will be bitten by a serpent.
9 He who quarries stones may be hurt by them,
And he who splits wood may be endangered by it.
10 If the ax is dull,
And one does not sharpen the edge,
Then he must use more strength;
But wisdom [f]brings success.
11 A serpent may bite (O)when it is not charmed;
The [g]babbler is no different.
12 (P)The words of a wise man’s mouth are gracious,
But (Q)the lips of a fool shall swallow him up;
13 The words of his mouth begin with foolishness,
And the end of his talk is raving madness.
14 (R)A fool also multiplies words.
No man knows what is to be;
Who can tell him (S)what will be after him?
15 The labor of fools wearies them,
For they do not even know how to go to the city!
16 (T)Woe to you, O land, when your king is a child,
And your princes feast in the morning!
17 Blessed are you, O land, when your king is the son of nobles,
And your (U)princes feast at the proper time—
For strength and not for drunkenness!
18 Because of laziness the [h]building decays,
And (V)through idleness of hands the house leaks.
19 A feast is made for laughter,
And (W)wine makes merry;
But money answers everything.
20 (X)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.
Footnotes
- Ecclesiastes 9:14 LXX, Syr., Vg. bulwarks
- Ecclesiastes 10:1 Lit. Flies of death
- Ecclesiastes 10:1 Tg., Vg. omit putrefy
- Ecclesiastes 10:4 Lit. healing, health
- Ecclesiastes 10:6 exalted positions
- Ecclesiastes 10:10 Lit. is a successful advantage
- Ecclesiastes 10:11 Lit. master of the tongue
- Ecclesiastes 10:18 Lit. rafters sink
Ecclesiastes 9:11-10:20
New International Version
Ecclesiastes 9:11-10:20
New International Version
11 I have seen something else under the sun:
The race is not to the swift
or the battle to the strong,(A)
nor does food come to the wise(B)
or wealth to the brilliant
or favor to the learned;
but time and chance(C) happen to them all.(D)
12 Moreover, no one knows when their hour will come:
As fish are caught in a cruel net,
or birds are taken in a snare,
so people are trapped by evil times(E)
that fall unexpectedly upon them.(F)
Wisdom Better Than Folly
13 I also saw under the sun this example of wisdom(G) that greatly impressed me: 14 There was once a small city with only a few people in it. And a powerful king came against it, surrounded it and built huge siege works against it. 15 Now there lived in that city a man poor but wise, and he saved the city by his wisdom. But nobody remembered that poor man.(H) 16 So I said, “Wisdom is better than strength.” But the poor man’s wisdom is despised, and his words are no longer heeded.(I)
17 The quiet words of the wise are more to be heeded
than the shouts of a ruler of fools.
18 Wisdom(J) is better than weapons of war,
but one sinner destroys much good.
10 As dead flies give perfume a bad smell,
so a little folly(K) 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(L) how stupid they are.
4 If a ruler’s anger rises against you,
do not leave your post;(M)
calmness can lay great offenses to rest.(N)
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,(O)
while the rich occupy the low ones.
7 I have seen slaves on horseback,
while princes go on foot like slaves.(P)
8 Whoever digs a pit may fall into it;(Q)
whoever breaks through a wall may be bitten by a snake.(R)
9 Whoever quarries stones may be injured by them;
whoever splits logs may be endangered by them.(S)
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.(T)
12 Words from the mouth of the wise are gracious,(U)
but fools are consumed by their own lips.(V)
13 At the beginning their words are folly;
at the end they are wicked madness—
14 and fools multiply words.(W)
No one knows what is coming—
who can tell someone else what will happen after them?(X)
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](Y)
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.(Z)
18 Through laziness, the rafters sag;
because of idle hands, the house leaks.(AA)
19 A feast is made for laughter,
wine(AB) makes life merry,
and money is the answer for everything.
20 Do not revile the king(AC) 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.
Footnotes
- Ecclesiastes 10:16 Or king is a child
New King James Version (NKJV) 
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
New International Version (NIV) 
Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
NIV Reverse Interlinear Bible: English to Hebrew and English to Greek. Copyright © 2019 by Zondervan.