The Folly of a Simpleminded Fool

10 Dead flies make a ^(A)perfumer’s oil stink, so a little simpleminded folly is weightier than wisdom and honor. ² A wise man’s heart directs him toward the right, but the foolish ^(B)man’s heart directs him toward the left. ³ Even when the simpleminded fool walks along the road, his heart lacks wisdom, and he ^(C)says to all that he is a simpleminded fool. ⁴ If the ruler’s ^[a]temper rises against you, ^(D)do not abandon your position, because ^(E)calmness causes great offenses to be abandoned.

⁵ There is an evil I have seen under the sun, like a mistake which goes forth from the one in power— ^6 [b](F)folly is set in many exalted places while rich men sit in humble places. ⁷ I have seen ^(G)slaves riding ^(H)on horses and princes walking like slaves on the land.

^8 (I)He who digs a pit may fall into it, and a ^(J)serpent may bite him who breaks through a wall. ⁹ He who quarries stones may be hurt by them, and he who splits logs may be endangered by them. ¹⁰ If the ^[c]axe is dull and he does not sharpen its edge, then he must ^[d]exert more strength. Wisdom has the advantage of giving success. ¹¹ If the serpent bites ^[e](K)before being charmed, there is no advantage for the charmer. ^12 (L)Words from the mouth of a wise man are gracious, but the lips of a ^(M)fool swallow him up; ¹³ the beginning of the words of his mouth is simpleminded folly, and the end of what comes from his mouth is evil ^(N)madness. ¹⁴ Yet the ^(O)simpleminded fool multiplies words. No man knows what will happen, and who can tell him ^(P)what will come after him? ¹⁵ The labor of ^[f]a fool so wearies him that he does not even know how to go to a city. ¹⁶ Woe to you, O land, whose ^(Q)king is a young man and whose princes ^[g]eat in the morning. ¹⁷ Blessed are you, O land, whose king is of nobility and whose princes eat at the appropriate time—for might and not for ^(R)drinking. ¹⁸ Through ^(S)indolence the beams sag, and through slack hands the house leaks. ¹⁹ Men prepare bread for laughter, and ^(T)wine makes life glad, and ^(U)money ^[h]is the answer to everything. ²⁰ Furthermore, ^(V)in your bedchamber do not ^(W)curse a king, and in your sleeping rooms do not curse a rich man, for a bird of the sky will bring the sound and the winged creature will tell the matter.