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Ecclesiastes 10
New Living Translation
Ecclesiastes 10
New Living Translation
10 As dead flies cause even a bottle of perfume to stink,
so a little foolishness spoils great wisdom and honor.
2 A wise person chooses the right road;
a fool takes the wrong one.
3 You can identify fools
just by the way they walk down the street!
4 If your boss is angry at you, don’t quit!
A quiet spirit can overcome even great mistakes.
The Ironies of Life
5 There is another evil I have seen under the sun. Kings and rulers make a grave mistake 6 when they give great authority to foolish people and low positions to people of proven worth. 7 I have even seen servants riding horseback like princes—and princes walking like servants!
8 When you dig a well,
you might fall in.
When you demolish an old wall,
you could be bitten by a snake.
9 When you work in a quarry,
stones might fall and crush you.
When you chop wood,
there is danger with each stroke of your ax.
10 Using a dull ax requires great strength,
so sharpen the blade.
That’s the value of wisdom;
it helps you succeed.
11 If a snake bites before you charm it,
what’s the use of being a snake charmer?
12 Wise words bring approval,
but fools are destroyed by their own words.
13 Fools base their thoughts on foolish assumptions,
so their conclusions will be wicked madness;
14 they chatter on and on.
No one really knows what is going to happen;
no one can predict the future.
15 Fools are so exhausted by a little work
that they can’t even find their way home.
16 What sorrow for the land ruled by a servant,[a]
the land whose leaders feast in the morning.
17 Happy is the land whose king is a noble leader
and whose leaders feast at the proper time
to gain strength for their work, not to get drunk.
18 Laziness leads to a sagging roof;
idleness leads to a leaky house.
19 A party gives laughter,
wine gives happiness,
and money gives everything!
20 Never make light of the king, even in your thoughts.
And don’t make fun of the powerful, even in your own bedroom.
For a little bird might deliver your message
and tell them what you said.
Footnotes
- 10:16 Or a child.
Ecclesiast 10
Cornilescu 1924 - Revised 2010, 2014
Ecclesiast 10
Cornilescu 1924 - Revised 2010, 2014
10 Muştele moarte strică şi acresc untdelemnul negustorului de unsori; tot aşa, puţină nebunie biruie înţelepciunea şi slava. 2 Inima înţeleptului este la dreapta lui, iar inima nebunului, la stânga lui. 3 Şi pe orice drum ar merge nebunul, peste tot îi lipseşte mintea şi(A) spune tuturor că este un nebun! 4 Când izbucneşte împotriva ta mânia celui ce stăpâneşte, nu-ţi(B) părăsi locul, căci(C) sângele rece te păzeşte de mari păcate. 5 Este un rău pe care l-am văzut sub soare, ca o greşeală care vine de la cel ce cârmuieşte: 6 nebunia(D) este pusă în dregătorii înalte, iar bogaţii stau în locuri de jos. 7 Am văzut robi călări(E) şi voievozi mergând pe jos ca nişte robi. 8 Cine(F) sapă groapa altuia cade el în ea şi cine surpă un zid va fi muşcat de un şarpe. 9 Cine sfărâmă pietre este rănit de ele şi cine despică lemne este în primejdie. 10 Când se toceşte fierul şi rămâne neascuţit, trebuie să-ţi îndoieşti puterile; de aceea la izbândă ajungi prin înţelepciune. 11 Când muşcă şarpele, fiindcă n-a(G) fost vrăjit, vrăjitorul n-are niciun câştig din meşteşugul lui. 12 Cuvintele(H) unui înţelept sunt plăcute, dar(I) buzele nebunului îi aduc pieirea. 13 Cel dintâi cuvânt care-i iese din gură este nebunie, şi cel din urmă este o nebunie şi mai rea. 14 Nebunul(J) spune o mulţime de vorbe, măcar că omul nu ştie ce se va întâmpla. Şi cine-i va spune ce(K) va fi după el? 15 Truda nebunului oboseşte pe cel ce nu cunoaşte drumul spre cetate. 16 Vai(L) de tine, ţară al cărei împărat este un copil şi ai cărei voievozi benchetuiesc de dimineaţă! 17 Ferice de tine, ţară al cărei împărat este de neam mare şi ai cărei voievozi(M) mănâncă la vremea potrivită, ca să-şi întărească puterile, nu ca să se dedea la beţie! 18 Când mâinile sunt leneşe, se lasă grinda şi când se lenevesc mâinile, plouă în casă. 19 Ospeţele se fac pentru petrecere, vinul(N) înveseleşte viaţa, iar argintul le dă pe toate. 20 Nu blestema pe împărat nici chiar în gând şi nu(O) blestema pe cel bogat în odaia în care te culci, căci s-ar putea întâmpla ca pasărea cerului să-ţi ducă vorba şi un sol înaripat să-ţi dea pe faţă vorbele.
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 Living Translation (NLT)
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Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Cornilescu 1924 - Revised 2010, 2014 (RMNN) 
Copyright of the Cornilescu Bible © 1924 belongs to British and Foreign Bible Society. Copyright © 2010, 2014 of the revised edition in Romanian language belongs to the Interconfessional Bible Society of Romania, with the approval of the British and Foreign Bible Society.
New International Version (NIV) 
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NIV Reverse Interlinear Bible: English to Hebrew and English to Greek. Copyright © 2019 by Zondervan.