Ecclesiastes 10 & 11

Ecclesiastes 10 New King James Version (NKJV)

10 Dead flies 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,
And he shows everyone that he is a fool.
⁴ If the spirit of the ruler rises against you,
Do not leave your post;
For conciliation pacifies great offenses.

⁵ There is an evil I have seen under the sun,
As an error proceeding from the ruler:
⁶ Folly is set in great dignity,
While the rich sit in a lowly place.
⁷ I have seen servants on horses,
While princes walk on the ground like servants.

⁸ 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 brings success.

¹¹ A serpent may bite when it is not charmed;
The babbler is no different.
¹² The words of a wise man’s mouth are gracious,
But 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 A fool also multiplies words.
No man knows what is to be;
Who can tell him 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 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 princes feast at the proper time—
For strength and not for drunkenness!
¹⁸ Because of laziness the building decays,
And through idleness of hands the house leaks.
¹⁹ A feast is made for laughter,
And wine makes merry;
But money answers everything.

²⁰ 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.

Ecclesiastes 11 New King James Version (NKJV)

11 Cast your bread upon the waters,
For you will find it after many days.
² Give a serving to seven, and also to eight,
For you do not know what evil will be on the earth.

³ If the clouds are full of rain,
They empty themselves upon the earth;
And if a tree falls to the south or the north,
In the place where the tree falls, there it shall lie.
⁴ He who observes the wind will not sow,
And he who regards the clouds will not reap.

⁵ As you do not know what is the way of the wind,
Or how the bones grow in the womb of her who is with child,
So you do not know the works of God who makes everything.
⁶ In the morning sow your seed,
And in the evening do not withhold your hand;
For you do not know which will prosper,
Either this or that,
Or whether both alike will be good.

⁷ Truly the light is sweet,
And it is pleasant for the eyes to behold the sun;
⁸ But if a man lives many years
And rejoices in them all,
Yet let him remember the days of darkness,
For they will be many.
All that is coming is vanity.

⁹ Rejoice, O young man, in your youth,
And let your heart cheer you in the days of your youth;
Walk in the ways of your heart,
And in the sight of your eyes;
But know that for all these
God will bring you into judgment.
¹⁰ Therefore remove sorrow from your heart,
And put away evil from your flesh,
For childhood and youth are vanity.