13 I also saw this about wisdom in this world
and found it powerful: 14 There was a small walled city with not so many inhabitants and a powerful king decided to attack it so he surrounded it and built large siege ramps against the walls. 15 There was a poor man in the city who was wise and used his wisdom to save it from that king, but the people soon forgot about that poor man. 16 So I concluded that wisdom is better than strength and yet the poor person’s wisdom wasn’t appreciated and his words were soon forgotten.
17 The words of wise are quietly heeded—
more than those of a ruler shouting at a bunch of fools.
18 It’s better to be wise than to have many weapons,
but one disobedient person will destroy a lot of good.
10 Dead flies make a perfumer’s product stink.
≈ Similarly, a little foolishness can ruin all your wisdom or honour.
2 A wise person’s thoughts lead to protection,
^ but a fool’s thoughts lead to vulnerability
3 and while they’re walking along the road,
the fool lacks common sense
and everyone is aware of what a fool they are.
4 If a ruler gets upset with you, don’t quit your position,
because calmness will smooth over large offenses.
5 I saw another misfortune in this world:
where an error happened in front of a ruler.
6 Foolishness can happen even in high positions,
^ and wealthy can be in low positions.
7 I’ve seen slaves riding horses
^ and princes walking on the ground like slaves.
8 A person who digs a pit can fall into it,[ref]
≈ and an attacker who breaks through a wall gets bitten by a snake.
9 A person who pulls out rocks might be hurt by them.
Someone who splits wood might get injured by it.
10 If your iron axe head gets blunt and the owner doesn’t sharpen it,
then he has to use lots of strength,
so use wisdom if you want to succeed.
11 If a snake bites before it’s charmed,
the snake charmer won’t be able to charge for the show.
12 A wise person’s words earn them favour,
but a fool’s lips destroy him—
13 as soon as he opens his mouth, foolishness comes out,
and the end of his chatter is wicked madness.
14 Then the fool continues again with more nonsense.
No one knows what will happen next.
Who can tell you what will happen in the future?
15 A foolish person’s work wears him out,
because he doesn’t know how to get to a city.
16 A country won’t end well
if its king is young and its princes feast in the morning.
17 A country is blessed if its king comes from a noble family
and its princes eat and drink for strength and not for drunkenness.
18 With a lazy owner, the roof beams will sag.
≈ Idle hands will result in a leaky house.
19 There’s laughter around the meal table,
wine makes people glad,
and money is the answer to everything.
20 Don’t curse the king even in your mind,
and don’t curse the rich even in your bedroom,
because a little birdie will carry your words
≈ and some feathered critter will pass on what you said.
