10 "Dead flies make the perfumer's ointment give off a stench;
so a little folly outweighs wisdom and honour.
2 A wise man's heart inclines him to the right,
but a fool's heart to the left.
3 Even when the fool walks on the road, he lacks sense,
and he says to everyone that he is a fool.
4 If the anger of the ruler rises against you, do not leave your place,
for calmness will lay great offences to rest.
5 There is an evil that I have seen under the sun, as it were an error proceeding from the ruler: 6 folly is set in many high places, and the rich sit in a low place. 7 I have seen slaves on horses, and princes walking on the ground like slaves.
8 He who digs a pit will fall into it,
and a serpent will bite him who breaks through a wall.
9 He who quarries stones is hurt by them,
and he who splits logs is endangered by them.
10 If the iron is blunt, and one does not sharpen the edge,
he must use more strength,
but wisdom helps one to succeed.
11 If the serpent bites before it is charmed,
there is no advantage to the charmer.
12 The words of a wise man's mouth win him favour,
but the lips of a fool consume him.
13 The beginning of the words of his mouth is foolishness,
and the end of his talk is evil madness.
14 A fool multiplies words,
though no man knows what is to be,
and who can tell him what will be after him?
15 The toil of a fool wearies him,
for he does not know the way to the city.
16 Woe to you, O land, when your king is a child,
and your princes feast in the morning!
17 Happy are you, O land, when your king is the son of the nobility,
and your princes feast at the proper time,
for strength, and not for drunkenness!
18 Through sloth the roof sinks in,
and through indolence the house leaks.
19 Bread is made for laughter,
and wine gladdens life,
and money answers everything.
20 Even in your thoughts, do not curse the king,
nor in your bedroom curse the rich,
for a bird of the air will carry your voice,
or some winged creature tell the matter."
Ecclesiastes 10:1-20
The contrast presented in 16 and 17 between woe and blessedness requires us to interpret 16 as a scathing criticism of irresponsible living in high places. Ill fares the land, it means, when the court is given over to pleasure and luxury. The reference to the king being a child may refer to the fact that the real power is in the hands of a Prince Regent, as was frequently the case in the history of the kings of Judah and Israel, with some disastrous consequences. On the other hand, it could refer to the king being an emotional and psychological juvenile. Eating in the morning is surely a reference to idling at a time when men should be up and doing their duty at work. In contrast, 17 speaks of a very different situation, when the king's character and nobility are of a quality consistent with his birth. The reference in 18 takes us back to 16: such an attitude and behaviour on the part of those 'at the top' spells ruin for the nation. The chapter closes (20) with a warning against incurring unnecessary risks, through unwise talk, and this bears out the needfulness of the Preacher’s earlier warning in 5:2 'Let thy words be few'. There seems to be a link here with what is said in the chapter about the fool who is full of words and generally apt to be saying the wrong thing, but the verse also contains a salutary warning about the danger of what we sometimes call 'tittle- tattle'. We may say something in confidence, within an intimate circle of friends and are later dismayed to discover that it has somehow been passed on and become common knowledge. The phrase we sometimes hear used is, 'A little bird told me', and we see from what is said here how old this saying is. But we are so slow to learn, are we not?