| 章 |
| 10:1 |
Dead flies make a perfumer's oil stink, so a little foolishness is weightier than wisdom [and] honor.
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| 10:2 |
A wise man's heart [directs him] toward the right, but the foolish man's heart [directs him] toward the left.
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| 10:3 |
Even when the fool walks along the road his sense is lacking, and he demonstrates to everyone [that] he is a fool.
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| 10:4 |
If the ruler's temper rises against you, do not abandon your position, because composure allays great offenses.
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| 10:5 |
There is an evil I have seen under the sun, like an error which goes forth from the ruler--
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| 10:6 |
folly is set in many exalted places while rich men sit in humble places.
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| 10:7 |
I have seen slaves [riding] on horses and princes walking like slaves on the land.
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| 10:8 |
He who digs a pit may fall into it, and a serpent may bite him who breaks through a wall.
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| 10:9 |
He who quarries stones may be hurt by them, and he who splits logs may be endangered by them.
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| 10:10 |
If the axe is dull and he does not sharpen [its] edge, then he must exert more strength. Wisdom has the advantage of giving success.
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| 10:11 |
If the serpent bites before being charmed, there is no profit for the charmer.
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| 10:12 |
Words from the mouth of a wise man are gracious, while the lips of a fool consume him;
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| 10:13 |
the beginning of his talking is folly, and the end of it is wicked madness.
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| 10:14 |
Yet the fool multiplies words. No man knows what will happen, and who can tell him what will come after him?
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| 10:15 |
The toil of a fool [so] wearies him that he does not [even] know how to go to a city.
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| 10:16 |
Woe to you, O land, whose king is a lad and whose princes feast in the morning.
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| 10:17 |
Blessed are you, O land, whose king is of nobility and whose princes eat at the appropriate time-- for strength, and not for drunkenness.
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| 10:18 |
Through indolence the rafters sag, and through slackness the house leaks.
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| 10:19 |
[Men] prepare a meal for enjoyment, and wine makes life merry, and money is the answer to everything.
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| 10:20 |
Furthermore, in your bedchamber do not curse a king, and in your sleeping rooms do not curse a rich man, for a bird of the heavens will carry the sound, and the winged creature will make the matter known.
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