10:1 As dead flies give perfume a bad smell, so a little folly outweighs wisdom and honor.
10:2 The heart of the wise inclines to the right, but the heart of the fool to the left.
10:3 Even as fools walk along the road, they lack sense and show everyone how stupid they are.
10:4 If a ruler’s anger rises against you, do not leave your post; calmness can lay great offenses to rest.
10:5 There is an evil I have seen under the sun, the sort of error that arises from a ruler:
10:6 Fools are put in many high positions, while the rich occupy the low ones.
10:7 I have seen slaves on horseback, while princes go on foot like slaves.
10:8 Whoever digs a pit may fall into it; whoever breaks through a wall may be bitten by a snake.
10:9 Whoever quarries stones may be injured by them; whoever splits logs may be endangered by them.
10:10 If the ax is dull and its edge unsharpened, more strength is needed, but skill will bring success.
10:11 If a snake bites before it is charmed, the charmer receives no fee.
10:12 Words from the mouth of the wise are gracious, but fools are consumed by their own lips.
10:13 At the beginning their words are folly; at the end they are wicked madness -
10:14 and fools multiply words. No one knows what is coming - who can tell someone else what will happen after them?
10:15 The toil of fools wearies them; they do not know the way to town.
10:16 Woe to the land whose king was a servant* and whose princes feast in the morning. / *Or king is a child
10:17 Blessed is the land whose king is of noble birth and whose princes eat at a proper time - for strength and not for drunkenness.
10:18 Through laziness, the rafters sag; because of idle hands, the house leaks.
10:19 A feast is made for laughter, wine makes life merry, and money is the answer for everything.
10:20 Do not revile the king even in your thoughts, or curse the rich in your bedroom, because a bird in the sky may carry your words, and a bird on the wing may report what you say.