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Ecclesiastes 10
New King James Version
Ecclesiastes 10
New King James Version
Wisdom and Folly
10 Dead[a] flies [b]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,
(A)And he shows everyone that he is a fool.
4 If the spirit of the ruler rises against you,
(B)Do not leave your post;
For (C)conciliation[c] pacifies great offenses.
5 There is an evil I have seen under the sun,
As an error proceeding from the ruler:
6 (D)Folly is set in [d]great dignity,
While the rich sit in a lowly place.
7 I have seen servants (E)on horses,
While princes walk on the ground like servants.
8 (F)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 [e]brings success.
11 A serpent may bite (G)when it is not charmed;
The [f]babbler is no different.
12 (H)The words of a wise man’s mouth are gracious,
But (I)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 (J)A fool also multiplies words.
No man knows what is to be;
Who can tell him (K)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 (L)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 (M)princes feast at the proper time—
For strength and not for drunkenness!
18 Because of laziness the [g]building decays,
And (N)through idleness of hands the house leaks.
19 A feast is made for laughter,
And (O)wine makes merry;
But money answers everything.
20 (P)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 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
Екклесиаст 10
New Russian Translation
Екклесиаст 10
New Russian Translation
10 Как мертвые мухи портят и делают зловонными благовония,
так и небольшая глупость перевешивает мудрость и честь.
2 Сердце мудрого влечет его вправо,
а сердце глупого – влево.
3 Даже когда глупый просто идет по дороге,
ему не хватает ума,
и всем видно, насколько он глуп.
4 Если гнев правителя вспыхнет на тебя,
не покидай своего места –
кротость может сгладить и большие ошибки.
5 Есть еще одно зло, которое я видел под солнцем,
ошибку, которую совершает властитель:
6 глупых ставят на многие высокие посты,
а богатые занимают низкие.
7 Видел я, как рабы ездили на лошадях,
а начальники шли пешком, подобно рабам.
8 Кто копает яму, тот может упасть в нее,
и кто разрушает стену, того может ужалить змея.
9 Кто работает на каменоломне, тот может покалечиться,
и кто колет дрова, тот подвергает себя опасности.
10 Если топор тупой,
и лезвие его не отточено,
то нужно будет прилагать большое усилие,
а мудрость бы все предусмотрела.
11 Нет пользы заклинателю от его искусства,
если змея ужалит его до заклинания.
12 Благодатны слова из уст мудрого,
а уста глупого губят его самого.
13 Начало его речи – глупость,
а конец ее – злое безумие.
14 Глупый говорит много,
хотя человек не знает будущего,
и кто может сказать ему, что будет после него?
15 Труд утомляет глупого,
который даже не знает, как добраться до города.
16 Горе тебе, страна, чей царь – еще ребенок[a],
и чьи вельможи пируют уже с утра.
17 Благо тебе, страна, чей царь из знатного рода,
и чьи вельможи едят и пьют в нужное время –
для подкрепления, а не для пьянства.
18 Если человек ленив, то в доме его прогнется потолок,
и если руки его праздны, то протечет крыша.
19 Пиры устраиваются для удовольствия,
и вино веселит жизнь,
а деньги обеспечивают и то, и другое.
20 Даже в мыслях своих не злословь царя,
и в своей спальне не говори плохо о богатом,
потому что птица небесная может перенести твои слова,
крылатая может передать, что ты сказал.
Footnotes
- 10:16 Или: «чей царь – как слуга».
Ecclesiastes 10
New International Version
Ecclesiastes 10
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.
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 Russian Translation (NRT)
Holy Bible, New Russian Translation (Новый Перевод на Русский Язык) Copyright © 2006 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
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.