¹As deadly flies make the pharmacist's oil stink and go putrid,

So does a little foolishness with him who is esteemed with wisdom and with honour.

²The heart of a wise man

Is on his right,

But the heart of a fool

Is on his left.

³And also when a fool is walking along a road,

His heart fails him,

And he says to everyone

That he is a fool.

⁴If the spirit of the ruler rises against you,

Do not leave your place,

For calmness bears with great sins.

⁵There is an evil thing which I have seen under the sun:

A sin through ignorance

Which proceeds from the ruler.

⁶Foolishness is instituted in many high places,

But the rich will sit in a low place.

⁷I have seen servants on horses,

And princes walking like servants on the ground.

⁸He who digs a pit will fall into it,

And as for him who demolishes a wall,

A serpent will bite him.

⁹He who quarries stones

Will be hurt by them,

And he who chops wood

Will be endangered by it.

¹⁰If the iron implement is blunt,

And he does not sharpen its edge,

Then he must use more force.

But wisdom has the benefit of bringing success.

¹¹If a serpent bites,

It is because it has not been charmed,

So the talkative man has nothing illustrious.

¹²The words of a wise man's mouth are gracious,

But the lips of a fool will swallow him up.

¹³The beginning of the words of his mouth is foolishness,

And the end of his speech is calamitous folly.

¹⁴And the fool is very talkative.

But man does not know what will come to pass,

And who can tell him

What will come to pass after him?

¹⁵The fool's toil will weary him

Because he does not know how to go to the city.

¹⁶Woe to you, O land,

Where your king is a boy,

And your princes dine in the morning.

¹⁷Blessed are you, O land,

Where your king is a nobleman,

And your princes eat in season,

In valour and not in drinking.

¹⁸Through slackness the rafter-work decays,

And through idleness in maintenance the house leaks.

¹⁹A meal is made for entertainment,

And wine makes life merry,

But money answers everything.

²⁰And do not curse the king in your mind,

And do not curse the rich in your bedrooms,

For a bird of the sky will carry your voice,

And the winged one will divulge the matter.