New World Translation of the Holy Scriptures — With References (Rbi8, en_US, 1984)
Ecclesiastes
Ecclesiastes, 10
1 Dead flies*1 are what cause the oil of the ointment maker to stink, to bubble forth. [So] a little foolishness does to one who is precious for wisdom and glory.
|
2 The heart of the wise is at his right hand, but the heart of the stupid at his left hand.
3 And also in whatever way the foolish one is walking, his own heart is lacking,*1 and he certainly says to everybody that he is foolish.
|
4 If the spirit of a ruler should mount up against you, do not leave your own place, for calmness itself allays great sins.
5 There exists something calamitous that I have seen under the sun, as when there is a mistake going forth on account of the one in power:
6 Foolishness*1 has been put in many high positions, but the rich ones themselves keep dwelling merely in a low condition.
|
7 I have seen servants on horses but princes walking on the earth just like servants.
8 He that is digging a pit will himself fall right into it; and he that is breaking through a stone wall, a serpent will bite him.
9 He that is quarrying out stones will hurt himself with them. He that is splitting logs will have to be careful with them.
10 If an iron tool has become blunt and someone has not whetted its edge, then he will exert his own vital energies. So the using of wisdom to success means advantage.
11 If the serpent bites when no charming results, then there is no advantage to the one indulging in the tongue.
12 The words of the mouth of the wise one mean favor, but the lips of the stupid one swallow him up.
13 The start of the words of his mouth is foolishness, and the end afterward of his mouth is calamitous madness.
14 And the foolish one speaks many words. Man*1 does not know what will come to be; and that which will come to be after him, who can tell him?
|
15 The hard work of the stupid ones makes them weary, because not one has come to know how to go to the city.
16 How will it be with you, O land, when your king is a boy and your own princes keep eating even in the morning?
17 Happy are you, O land, when your king is the son of noble ones and your own princes eat at the proper time for mightiness, not for mere drinking.
18 Through great laziness the beamwork sinks in, and through the letting down of the hands the house leaks.
19 Bread*1 is for the laughter of the workers, and wine itself makes life rejoice; but money*2 is what meets a response in all things.
|
20 Even in your bedroom do not call down evil upon the king himself, and in the interior rooms where you lie down do not call down evil upon anyone rich; for a flying creature of the heavens will convey the sound and something owning wings will tell the matter.