Ecclesiastes 10:1-20 NLT

Ecclesiastes 10:1-20 NLT [1] 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. [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, 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.

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