Ecclesiastes Chapter 10
Showing all 20 verses for Ecclesiastes Chapter 10.
The People's Bible is written by people, for the people. Each verse below shows:
"Dead flies cause the ointment of the apothecary to send forth a stinking savour: so doth a little folly him that is in reputation for wisdom and honour. "
"A few dead flies can turn a whole jar of fine perfume rotten and foul-smelling. In the same way, a small dose of foolishness can spoil someone's hard-earned reputation for wisdom and honour."
I want you to guard the small moments, not just the big decisions - a careless word or a shortcut in private can undo years of trust in a moment. But I also don't want you living in fear of one mistake defining you forever; bring your slip-ups to me honestly, and let's keep building something real instead of just something that looks good.
"A wise man’s heart is at his right hand; but a fool’s heart at his left. "
"A wise person's instincts naturally lean them towards what's sound and helpful; a fool's instincts lean them towards what's wrong and harmful."
Notice which way your heart naturally pulls you when no one's watching - that's often the truest measure of where you are. If it pulls towards harm, come and let me reorient it; I'm not interested in shaming you for your instincts, only in helping you grow new ones.
"Yea also, when he that is a fool walketh by the way, his wisdom faileth him, and he saith to every one that he is a fool. "
"Even just walking down the street, a foolish person's lack of sense is obvious - their behaviour practically announces to everyone that they're a fool."
Don't perform wisdom for an audience - seek the real thing, because it shows through eventually anyway. And when you spot someone else's folly on display, remember you have your own unguarded moments too; extend the patience you'd want extended to you.
"If the spirit of the ruler rise up against thee, leave not thy place; for yielding pacifieth great offences. "
"If a ruler or someone in authority gets angry at you, don't storm off in a huff - staying calm and steady can defuse even serious trouble."
When someone in power over you lashes out, I'm not asking you to grovel or agree with wrong - I'm asking you to stay steady rather than matching their heat with your own. A calm answer has turned away more wrath than a dozen furious ones ever could.
"There is an evil which I have seen under the sun, as an error which proceedeth from the ruler: "
"Here's an injustice I've noticed in life - a mistake that seems to come from the way those in power run things:"
It's alright to name what's actually unfair rather than pretending everything is fine - honesty about injustice is the first step towards caring about the people it harms.
"Folly is set in great dignity, and the rich sit in low place. "
"Foolish people get placed in positions of great honour, while capable, worthy people are stuck in low positions."
If you've ever watched someone less capable get the credit or the promotion, you're not imagining things - it happens, and it isn't a verdict on your worth. Don't let a broken system tell you who you are; I see what's real in you even when others don't.
"I have seen servants upon horses, and princes walking as servants upon the earth. "
"I've seen servants riding on horseback like nobles, while princes walk on foot like servants."
Don't build your sense of who you are on rank or status - thrones get scrambled, but who you are underneath doesn't. I've always valued the servant on foot exactly as much as the prince on horseback, and so should you.
"He that diggeth a pit shall fall into it; and whoso breaketh an hedge, a serpent shall bite him. "
"Dig a pit to trap someone and you might fall into it yourself; tear down a wall and a snake hiding inside it might bite you."
If you're tempted to set a trap for someone else, know that these things have a way of circling back. Live instead so that whatever you send out into the world - kindness or harm - is something you'd be glad to receive back yourself.
"Whoso removeth stones shall be hurt therewith; and he that cleaveth wood shall be endangered thereby. "
"Quarry stones and you may be hurt by them; chop wood and you risk injury doing it."
Don't let fear of injury or failure stop you doing honest work - risk is simply part of being alive and useful. Do the work carefully, but do it; a life spent avoiding all risk is a life spent avoiding living.
"If the iron be blunt, and he do not whet the edge, then must he put to more strength: but wisdom is profitable to direct. "
"If your axe is blunt and you don't sharpen it, you'll have to work much harder to get the job done - but wisdom is what makes success possible without so much wasted struggle."
Take the time to sharpen the axe before you swing it - prepare, learn the skill, don't just grind away out of stubbornness. Wisdom often looks less like brilliance and more like the patience to do the boring preparation first.
"Surely the serpent will bite without enchantment; and a babbler is no better. "
"If a snake bites before the charmer can tame it, the charmer's skill is wasted - and a person who talks carelessly and endlessly is no better off."
Watch your words before they escape you, not after - restraint in speech is a kind of skill worth practising daily. What you don't say in anger can matter as much as what you do say in love.
"The words of a wise man’s mouth are gracious; but the lips of a fool will swallow up himself. "
"A wise person's words are pleasant and helpful; a fool's words end up destroying the fool himself."
Speak the kind of words you'd want spoken back to you - grace-filled, considerate, true. What comes out of your mouth reveals what's really in your heart, so tend the heart and the words will follow.
"The beginning of the words of his mouth is foolishness: and the end of his talk is mischievous madness. "
"A fool's talk starts out foolish and ends up genuinely dangerous, even a bit unhinged."
Catch careless words early, before they snowball into real damage - a small unkindness left unchecked has a way of growing teeth. Guard your mouth the way you'd guard anything else you actually care about.
"A fool also is full of words: a man cannot tell what shall be; and what shall be after him, who can tell him? "
"Fools talk endlessly - yet no one, wise or foolish, actually knows what the future holds or what will happen after they're gone."
Don't pretend to certainty about tomorrow that you don't actually have - speak less, trust more, and let today be enough. I taught this too: don't be anxious for tomorrow, since tomorrow will take care of itself.
"The labour of the foolish wearieth every one of them, because he knoweth not how to go to the city. "
"Fools wear themselves out working, because they don't even know the simple way to get to town."
Ask for direction before you exhaust yourself grinding blindly at something - there's no shame in needing help finding the way. I'm glad to give wisdom generously to anyone who simply asks.
"Woe to thee, O land, when thy king is a child, and thy princes eat in the morning! "
"Trouble is coming for a nation whose king is immature and reckless, and whose leaders feast and indulge from early morning."
Whether or not you're formally 'in charge' of anything, lead your own life with discipline rather than indulgence - that's how you serve the people who depend on you. And where you see leaders failing this test, name it honestly without losing compassion for their humanity.
"Blessed art thou, O land, when thy king is the son of nobles, and thy princes eat in due season, for strength, and not for drunkenness! "
"A nation is fortunate when its king has good, disciplined character, and its leaders eat at the proper time - for strength, not to get drunk."
Practise discipline not as punishment but as a form of love towards the people around you - eating, resting, and working in a way that strengthens you to serve rather than to satisfy yourself. Moderation, done right, is freeing, not restrictive.
"By much slothfulness the building decayeth; and through idleness of the hands the house droppeth through. "
"A house's roof collapses through laziness; a home falls apart when hands refuse to do the work."
Tend faithfully to what's been entrusted to you, even in small, unglamorous ways - a roof, a relationship, a responsibility all decay the same way, through quiet neglect rather than sudden disaster. Faithfulness in small things is never wasted.
"A feast is made for laughter, and wine maketh merry: but money answereth all things. "
"People throw parties for laughter, and wine makes life feel merry - but money is what actually makes everything happen."
Money is a tool for good, not a master to serve - use it to create real joy and to be generous, but don't let the pursuit of it quietly take over your heart. Watch for the moment when 'having enough' turns into 'never enough'.
"Curse not the king, no not in thy thought; and curse not the rich in thy bedchamber: for a bird of the air shall carry the voice, and that which hath wings shall tell the matter. "
"Don't curse the king even in your private thoughts, and don't curse the rich even alone in your own bedroom - word has a way of travelling, as if carried by a bird."
Guard your heart's private bitterness, not just your public words - resentment that festers in secret tends to leak out and cause harm anyway. Better to bring your grievances honestly into the light, to me or to someone who can actually help, than to let them curdle in the dark.