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10:1  Just as dead flies make perfumed oil stink, so a little folly outweighs wisdom and honor.
10:2  A wise man’s heart leads him rightly, but a fool’s heart leads him astray;
10:3  and when a fool travels, he has no good sense, thus showing everyone that he is a fool.
10:4  If a ruler gets angry at you, stay at your post, because calmness soothes great offenses.
10:5  Another evil I have seen under the sun, the kind of mistake rulers make, is that
10:6  fools are promoted to high positions, while the rich occupy humble places.
10:7  I have seen servants riding horses, while princes walk on foot like slaves.
10:8  He who digs a pit may fall into it; he who breaks through a wall may be bitten by a snake.
10:9  He who quarries stones may get hurt by them, he who chops wood puts himself in danger.
10:10  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.
10:11  If a snake bites before it is charmed, the snake-charmer has no advantage.
10:12  The words spoken by the wise bring them favor, but the lips of a fool swallow him up.
10:13  What he says starts with foolishness and ends with wicked madness.
10:14  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?
10:15  The efforts of a fool wear him out; he doesn’t even know the way to town!
10:16  Woe to you, land, when your king is a child, and your leaders start their parties in the morning!
10:17  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!
10:18  When the owner is lazy, the roof sags; when hands are idle, the house leaks.
10:19  Parties are made for having a good time, wine adds cheer to life, and money has an answer for everything.
10:20  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.