Parallel Bible results for "ecclesiastes 10"

Ecclesiastes 10

New Living Translation 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.

The Complete Jewish Bible CJB

1 Just as dead flies make perfumed oil stink, so a little folly outweighs wisdom and honor.

2 A wise man's heart leads him rightly, but a fool's heart leads him astray;

3 and when a fool travels, he has no good sense, thus showing everyone that he is a fool.

4 If a ruler gets angry at you, stay at your post, because calmness soothes great offenses.

5 Another evil I have seen under the sun, the kind of mistake rulers make, is that

6 fools are promoted to high positions, while the rich occupy humble places.

7 I have seen servants riding horses, while princes walk on foot like slaves.

8 He who digs a pit may fall into it; he who breaks through a wall may be bitten by a snake.

9 He who quarries stones may get hurt by them, he who chops wood puts himself in danger.

10 If the [hatchet's] iron [blade] is blunt, and [its user] doesn't sharpen it, he will have to exert more effort; but the expert has the advantage of his skill.

11 If a snake bites before it is charmed, the snake-charmer has no advantage.

12 The words spoken by the wise bring them favor, but the lips of a fool swallow him up.

13 What he says starts with foolishness and ends with wicked madness.

14 A fool keeps talking and talking, yet no one knows what the future will bring -can anyone tell a person what will happen after he's gone?

15 The efforts of a fool wear him out; he doesn't even know the way to town!

16 Woe to you, land, when your king is a child, and your leaders start their parties in the morning!

17 Happy are you, land, when your king is well-born, and your princes eat at the proper time, in order to stay strong, not to get drunk!

18 When the owner is lazy, the roof sags; when hands are idle, the house leaks.

19 Parties are made for having a good time, wine adds cheer to life, and money has an answer for everything.

20 Don't insult the king, not even in your thoughts; and don't insult the wealthy, not even in your bedroom; for a bird in the air might carry the news, a creature with wings might repeat what you said.