Ecclesiastes 10:7-18

English Standard Version

⁸ He who ^(C)digs a pit will fall into it,
    and ^(D)a serpent will bite him who breaks through a wall.
^9 (E)He who quarries stones is hurt by them,
    and he who ^(F)splits logs is endangered by them.
¹⁰ If the iron is blunt, and one does not sharpen the edge,
    he must use more strength,
    but wisdom helps one to succeed.^[a]
11 If the serpent bites before it is ^(G)charmed,
    there is no advantage to the charmer.

¹² The words of a wise man's mouth ^(H)win him favor,^[b]
    but ^(I)the lips of a fool consume him.
¹³ The beginning of the words of his mouth is foolishness,
    and the end of his talk is evil madness.
^14 (J)A fool multiplies words,
    though no man knows what is to be,
    and who can tell him ^(K)what will be after him?
¹⁵ The toil of a fool wearies him,
    for he does not know ^(L)the way to the city.

^16 (M)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 ^(N)drunkenness!
¹⁸ Through sloth the roof sinks in,
    and through indolence the house leaks.