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11 The words of the wise are like cattle prods—painful but helpful. Their collected sayings are like a nail-studded stick with which a shepherd[a] drives the sheep.

12 But, my child,[b] let me give you some further advice: Be careful, for writing books is endless, and much study wears you out.

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Footnotes

  1. 12:11 Or one shepherd.
  2. 12:12 Hebrew my son.

11 The words of the wise are like iron-tipped prods;
    the collected sayings of the masters
        are like nails fixed firmly by a shepherd.[a]
12     Be careful, my child, of anything beyond them!

There’s no end to the excessive production of scrolls. Studying too much wearies the body.

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Footnotes

  1. Ecclesiastes 12:11 Or fixed by one shepherd