10 Dead flies* 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,* 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* 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* 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* is for the laughter of the workers, and wine itself makes life rejoice;+ but money* 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.+