Ecclesiastes 10
1 Pestilent flies will corrupt a preparation of sweet ointment: [and] a little wisdom is more precious than great glory of folly.
[A few] dead flies in [a bottle of] perfume cause [all] the perfume to stink. Similarly [SIM], a small amount of acting foolishly can have a greater effect than acting wisely.
2 A wise man's heart is at his right hand; but a fool's heart at his left.
If people think sensibly, it will lead them to do what is right; if they think foolishly, it causes them to do what is wrong.
3 Yea, and whenever a fool walks by the way, his heart will fail him, and all that he thinks of is folly.
Even while foolish people walk along the road, they show that they do not have good sense; they show everyone that they are not wise.
4 If the spirit of the ruler rise up against thee, leave not thy place; for soothing will put an end to great offences.
Do not quit working for a ruler when he is angry with you; if you remain calm, he will [probably] stop being angry.
5 There is an evil which I have seen under the sun, wherein an error has proceeded from the ruler.
There is something [else] that I have seen here on this earth, something that rulers sometimes do that is wrong/inappropriate:
6 The fool has been set in very high places, while rich men would sit in a low one.
They appoint foolish people to have important positions, while they appoint rich [people] to have unimportant positions.
7 I have seen servants upon horses, and princes walking as servants on the earth.
They allow slaves [to ride] on horses [like rich people usually do], [but] they force officials to walk [like slaves usually do].
8 He that digs a pit shall fall into it; and him that breaks down a hedge a serpent shall bite.
[It is possible that] those who dig pits will fall into one of those pits. [It is possible that] someone who tears down a wall will be bitten by a snake [that is in that wall].
9 He that removes stones shall be troubled thereby; he that cleaves wood shall be endangered thereby.
If you work in a quarry, [it is possible that] a stone [will fall on you and] injure you. [It is possible that] men who split logs will be injured by one of those logs.
10 If the axe-head should fall off, then the man troubles his countenance, and he must put forth more strength: and [in that case] skill is of no advantage to a man.
If your axe is not sharp [DOU], you will need to work harder [to cut down a tree], but by being wise, you will succeed.
11 If a serpent bite when there is no [charmer's] whisper, then there is no advantage to the charmer.
If a snake bites a man before he charms/tames it, his ability to charm snakes will not benefit him.
12 The words of a wise mouth are gracious: but the lips of a fool will swallow him up.
Wise people say [MTY] what is sensible, and because of that, people honor them; but foolish people are destroyed by what they say [MTY].
13 The beginning of the words of his mouth is folly: and the end of his talk mischievous madness.
When foolish people start to talk, they say things that are foolish, and they end by saying things that are both wicked and foolish.
14 A fool moreover multiplies words: man knows not what has been, nor what will be: who shall tell him what will come after him?
They talk (too much/without ceasing). None of us knows what will happen in the future, or what will happen after we die.
15 The labour of fools will afflict them, [as that of one] who knows not to go to the city.
Foolish people become [so] exhausted by the work that they do that they are unable to find the road to their town/homes.
16 Woe to thee, O city, whose king is young, and thy princes eat in the morning!
Terrible things will happen to the people of a nation whose ruler is a foolish young man, and whose [other] leaders continually eat, all day long, every day.
17 Blessed art thou, O land, whose king is a son of nobles, and whose princes shall eat seasonably, for strength, and shall not be ashamed.
[But] a nation will prosper if its ruler is from a (noble/well-educated) family, and if its [other] leaders feast [only] at the proper times, and [if they eat and drink only] to be strong, not to become drunk.
18 By slothful neglect a building will be brought low: and by idleness of the hands the house will fall to pieces.
Some men are very lazy [and do not repair the rafters], with the result that the rafters sag [and collapse]; and if they do not repair the roof, water will leak into the house [when it rains].
19 Men prepare bread for laughter, and wine and oil that the living should rejoice: but to money all things will humbly yield obedience.
Eating food and drinking wine causes us to laugh and be happy, [but] we are able to enjoy those things only if we have money [to buy them].
20 Even in thy conscience, curse not the king; and curse not the rich in thy bedchamber: for a bird of the air shall carry thy voice, and that which has wings shall report thy speech.
Do not even think about cursing the king, or cursing rich [people, even] when you are [alone] in your bedroom, because [it is possible that] a little bird will hear [what you are saying], [and] tell those people what you said [about them].
