Ecclesiastes 10-12

Darby Translation

10 Dead flies cause the ointment of the apothecary to stink [and] ferment; [so] a little folly is weightier than wisdom [and] honour.

² The heart of a wise [man] is at his right hand; but a fool's heart at his left.

³ Yea also, when he that is a fool walketh by the way, his sense faileth [him], and he saith to every one [that] he is a fool.

⁴ If the spirit of the ruler rise up against thee, leave not thy place; for quietness pacifieth great offences.

⁵ There is an evil that I have seen under the sun, as an error [that] proceedeth from the ruler:

⁶ folly is set in great dignities, but the rich sit in a low place.

⁷ I have seen servants upon horses, and princes walking as servants upon the earth.

⁸ He that diggeth a pit falleth into it; and whoso breaketh down a hedge, a serpent biteth him.

⁹ Whoso removeth stones is hurt therewith; he that cleaveth wood is endangered thereby.

¹⁰ If the iron be blunt, and one do not whet the edge, then must he apply more strength; but wisdom is profitable to give success.

¹¹ If the serpent bite before enchantment, then the charmer hath no advantage.

¹² The words of a wise man's mouth are gracious; but the lips of a fool swallow up himself.

¹³ The beginning of the words of his mouth is folly; and the end of his talk is mischievous madness.

¹⁴ And the fool multiplieth words: [yet] man knoweth not what shall be; and what shall be after him, who will tell him?

¹⁵ The labour of fools wearieth them, because they know not how to go to the city.

¹⁶ Woe to thee, O land, when thy king is a child, and thy princes eat in the morning!

¹⁷ Happy art thou, O land, when thy king is a son of nobles, and thy princes eat in [due] season, for strength, and not for drunkenness!

¹⁸ By much sloth fulness the framework falleth in; and through idleness of the hands the house drippeth.

¹⁹ A feast is made for laughter, and wine maketh life merry; but money answereth everything.

²⁰ Curse not the king, no, not in thy thought; and curse not the rich in thy bedchamber: for the bird of the air will carry the voice, and that which hath wings will tell the matter.

11 Cast thy bread upon the waters; for thou shalt find it after many days.

² Give a portion to seven, and also to eight; for thou knowest not what evil shall be upon the earth.

³ If the clouds be full of rain, they empty themselves upon the earth; and if a tree fall toward the south, or toward the north, in the place where the tree falleth, there it shall be.

⁴ He that observeth the wind will not sow; and he that regardeth the clouds will not reap.

⁵ As thou knowest not what is the way of the spirit, how the bones [grow] in the womb of her that is with child, even so thou knowest not the work of God who maketh all.

⁶ In the morning sow thy seed, and in the evening withhold not thy hand; for thou knowest not which shall prosper, whether this or that, or whether they both shall be alike good.

⁷ Now the light is sweet, and pleasant is it to the eyes to see the sun;

⁸ but if a man live many years, [and] rejoice in them all, yet let him remember the days of darkness; for they shall be many: all that cometh is vanity.

⁹ Rejoice, young man, in thy youth; and let thy heart cheer thee in the days of thy youth, and walk in the ways of thy heart, and in the sight of thine eyes; but know that for all these [things] God will bring thee into judgment.

¹⁰ Then remove discontent from thy heart, and put away evil from thy flesh; for childhood and youth are vanity.

12 And remember thy Creator in the days of thy youth, before the evil days come, and the years draw nigh, of which thou shalt say, I have no pleasure in them;

² before the sun, and the light, and the moon, and the stars, be darkened, and the clouds return after the rain;

³ in the day when the keepers of the house tremble, and the strong men bow themselves, and the grinders cease because they are few, and those that look out of the windows are darkened,

⁴ and the doors are shut toward the street; when the sound of the grinding is subdued, and they rise up at the voice of the bird, and all the daughters of song are brought low;

⁵ they are also afraid of what is high, and terrors are in the way, and the almond is despised, and the grasshopper is a burden, and the caper-berry is without effect; (for man goeth to his age-long home, and the mourners go about the streets;)

⁶ —before the silver cord be loosed, or the golden bowl be broken, or the pitcher be shattered at the fountain, or the wheel be broken at the cistern;

⁷ and the dust return to the earth as it was, and the spirit return unto God who gave it.

⁸ Vanity of vanities, saith the Preacher: all is vanity.

⁹ And moreover, because the Preacher was wise, he still taught the people knowledge; and he pondered, and sought out, [and] set in order many proverbs.

¹⁰ The Preacher sought to find out acceptable words; and that which was written is upright, words of truth.

¹¹ The words of the wise are as goads, and the collections [of them] as nails fastened in: they are given from one shepherd.

¹² And besides, my son, be warned by them: of making many books there is no end, and much study is a weariness of the flesh.

¹³ Let us hear the end of the whole matter: Fear God, and keep his commandments; for this is the whole of man.

¹⁴ For God shall bring every work into judgment, with every secret thing, whether it be good or whether it be evil.