Ecclesiastes 10:7-17

7 I have seen slaves on horseback while noblemen go on foot like slaves.
8 If you dig a pit, you fall in it; if you break through a wall, a snake bites you. 1
9 If you work in a stone quarry, you get hurt by stones. If you split wood, you get hurt doing it.
10 If your ax is dull and you don't sharpen it, you have to work harder to use it. It is smarter to plan ahead.
11 Knowing how to charm a snake is of no use if you let the snake bite first.
12 What the wise say brings them honor, but fools are destroyed by their own words.
13 They start out with silly talk and end up with pure madness.
14 A fool talks on and on. No one knows what is going to happen next, and no one can tell us what will happen after we die.
15 Only someone too stupid to find his way home would wear himself out with work.
16 A country is in trouble when its king is a youth and its leaders feast all night long.
17 But a country is fortunate to have a king who makes his own decisions and leaders who eat at the proper time, who control themselves and don't get drunk.

Cross References 1

  • 1. 10.8Psalms 7.15;Proverbs 26.27+2Ben Sira 27.26, 27.
Scripture taken from the Good News Translation - Second Edition, Copyright 1992 by American Bible Society. Used by Permission.