1  10 Dead flies in perfume make it stink,

And a little foolishness decomposes much wisdom.

2  Wise thinking leads to right living;

Stupid thinking leads to wrong living.

3  Fools on the road have no sense of direction.

The way they walk tells the story: “There goes the fool again!”

4  If a ruler loses his temper against you, don’t panic;

A calm disposition quiets intemperate rage.

5–7  Here’s a piece of bad business I’ve seen on this earth,

An error that can be blamed on whoever is in charge:

Immaturity is given a place of prominence,

While maturity is made to take a backseat.

I’ve seen unproven upstarts riding in style,

While experienced veterans are put out to pasture.

8  Caution: The trap you set might catch you.

Warning: Your accomplice in crime might double-cross you.

9  Safety first: Quarrying stones is dangerous.

Be alert: Felling trees is hazardous.

10  Remember: The duller the ax the harder the work;

Use your head: The more brains, the less muscle.

11  If the snake bites before it’s been charmed,

What’s the point in then sending for the charmer?

12–13  The words of a wise person are gracious.

The talk of a fool self-destructs—

He starts out talking nonsense

And ends up spouting insanity and evil.

14  Fools talk way too much,

Chattering stuff they know nothing about.

15  A decent day’s work so fatigues fools

That they can’t find their way back to town.

16–17  Unlucky the land whose king is a young pup,

And whose princes party all night.

Lucky the land whose king is mature,

Where the princes behave themselves

And don’t drink themselves silly.

18  A shiftless man lives in a tumbledown shack;

A lazy woman ends up with a leaky roof.

19  Laughter and bread go together,

And wine gives sparkle to life—

But it’s money that makes the world go around.

20  Don’t bad-mouth your leaders, not even under your breath,

And don’t abuse your betters, even in the privacy of your home.

Loose talk has a way of getting picked up and spread around.

Little birds drop the crumbs of your gossip far and wide.

1  11 Be generous: Invest in acts of charity.

Charity yields high returns.

2  Don’t hoard your goods; spread them around.

Be a blessing to others. This could be your last night.

3–4  When the clouds are full of water, it rains.

When the wind blows down a tree, it lies where it falls.

Don’t sit there watching the wind. Do your own work.

Don’t stare at the clouds. Get on with your life.

5  Just as you’ll never understand

the mystery of life forming in a pregnant woman,

So you’ll never understand

the mystery at work in all that God does.

6  Go to work in the morning

and stick to it until evening without watching the clock.

You never know from moment to moment

how your work will turn out in the end.

Before the Years Take Their Toll

7–8  Oh, how sweet the light of day,

And how wonderful to live in the sunshine!

Even if you live a long time, don’t take a single day for granted.

Take delight in each light-filled hour,

Remembering that there will also be many dark days

And that most of what comes your way is smoke.

9  You who are young, make the most of your youth.

Relish your youthful vigor.

Follow the impulses of your heart.

If something looks good to you, pursue it.

But know also that not just anything goes;

You have to answer to God for every last bit of it.

10  Live footloose and fancy-free—

You won’t be young forever.

Youth lasts about as long as smoke.

1–2  12 Honor and enjoy your Creator while you’re still young,

Before the years take their toll and your vigor wanes,

Before your vision dims and the world blurs

And the winter years keep you close to the fire.

3–5  In old age, your body no longer serves you so well.

Muscles slacken, grip weakens, joints stiffen.

The shades are pulled down on the world.

You can’t come and go at will. Things grind to a halt.

The hum of the household fades away.

You are wakened now by bird-song.

Hikes to the mountains are a thing of the past.

Even a stroll down the road has its terrors.

Your hair turns apple-blossom white,

Adorning a fragile and impotent matchstick body.

Yes, you’re well on your way to eternal rest,

While your friends make plans for your funeral.

6–7  Life, lovely while it lasts, is soon over.

Life as we know it, precious and beautiful, ends.

The body is put back in the same ground it came from.

The spirit returns to God, who first breathed it.

8  It’s all smoke, nothing but smoke.

The Quester says that everything’s smoke.

The Final Word

9–10  Besides being wise himself, the Quester also taught others knowledge. He weighed, examined, and arranged many proverbs. The Quester did his best to find the right words and write the plain truth.

11  The words of the wise prod us to live well.

They’re like nails hammered home, holding life together.

They are given by God, the one Shepherd.

12–13  But regarding anything beyond this, dear friend, go easy. There’s no end to the publishing of books, and constant study wears you out so you’re no good for anything else. The last and final word is this:

Fear God.

Do what he tells you.

14  And that’s it. Eventually God will bring everything that we do out into the open and judge it according to its hidden intent, whether it’s good or evil.