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10:1  As dead flies give perfume a bad smell, so a little folly outweighs wisdom and honour.
10:2  The heart of the wise inclines to the right, but the heart of the fool to the left.
10:3  Even as fools walk along the road, they lack sense and show everyone how stupid they are.
10:4  If a ruler’s anger rises against you, do not leave your post; calmness can lay great offences to rest.
10:5  There is an evil I have seen under the sun, the sort of error that arises from a ruler:
10:6  fools are put in many high positions, while the rich occupy the low ones.
10:7  I have seen slaves on horseback, while princes go on foot like slaves.
10:8  Whoever digs a pit may fall into it; whoever breaks through a wall may be bitten by a snake.
10:9  Whoever quarries stones may be injured by them; whoever splits logs may be endangered by them.
10:10  If the axe is dull and its edge unsharpened, more strength is needed, but skill will bring success.
10:11  If a snake bites before it is charmed, the charmer receives no fee.
10:12  Words from the mouth of the wise are gracious, but fools are consumed by their own lips.
10:13  At the beginning their words are folly; at the end they are wicked madness –
10:14  and fools multiply words. No one knows what is coming – who can tell someone else what will happen after them?
10:15  The toil of fools wearies them; they do not know the way to town.
10:16  Woe to the land whose king was a servant and whose princes feast in the morning.
10:17  Blessed is the land whose king is of noble birth and whose princes eat at a proper time – for strength and not for drunkenness.
10:18  Through laziness, the rafters sag; because of idle hands, the house leaks.
10:19  A feast is made for laughter, wine makes life merry, and money is the answer for everything.
10:20  Do not revile the king even in your thoughts, or curse the rich in your bedroom, because a bird in the sky may carry your words, and a bird on the wing may report what you say.