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

Words from the mouth of a wise man are gracious, while the lips of a fool consume him; the beginning of his talking is folly and the end of it is wicked madness. Yet the fool multiplies words. No man knows what will happen, and who can tell him what will come after him?