Ecclesiastes 10:4-1953 kjv — If the spirit of the ruler rise up against thee, leave not thy place; for yielding pacifieth great offences. There is a…

“If the spirit of the ruler rise up against thee, leave not thy place; for gentleness allayeth great offences. There is an evil which I have seen under the sun, as it were an error which proceedeth from the ruler: folly is set in great dignity, and the rich sit in a low place. I have seen servants upon horses, and princes walking like servants upon the earth. He that diggeth a pit shall fall into it; and whoso breaketh through a wall, a serpent shall bite him. Whoso heweth out stones shall be hurt therewith; and he that cleaveth wood is endangered thereby. If the iron be blunt, and one do not whet the edge, then must he put to more strength: but wisdom is profitable to direct. If the serpent bite before it is charmed, then is there no advantage in the charmer. The words of a wise man’s mouth are gracious; but the lips of a fool will swallow up himself. The beginning of the words of his mouth is foolishness; and the end of his talk is mischievous madness. A fool also multiplieth words: yet man knoweth not what shall be; and that which shall be after him, who can tell him? The labor of fools wearieth every one of them; for he knoweth not how to go to the city. Woe to thee, O land, when thy king is a child, and thy princes eat in the morning! Happy 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! By slothfulness the roof sinketh in; and through idleness of the hands the house leaketh. A feast is made for laughter, and wine maketh glad the life; and money answereth all things. Revile not the king, no, not in thy thought; and revile not the rich in thy bedchamber: for a bird of the heavens shall carry the voice, and that which hath wings shall tell the matter. ”

“If the spirit of the ruler rises up against you, don't leave your place; for gentleness lays great offenses to rest. There is an evil which I have seen under the sun, the sort of error which proceeds from the ruler. Folly is set in great dignity, and the rich sit in a low place. I have seen servants on horses, and princes walking like servants on the earth. He who digs a pit may fall into it; and whoever breaks through a wall may be bitten by a snake. Whoever carves out stones may be injured by them. Whoever splits wood may be endangered thereby. If the axe is blunt, and one doesn't sharpen the edge, then he must use more strength; but skill brings success. If the snake bites before it is charmed, then is there no profit for the charmer's tongue. The words of a wise man's mouth are gracious; but a fool is swallowed by his own lips. The beginning of the words of his mouth is foolishness; and the end of his talk is mischievous madness. A fool also multiplies words. Man doesn't know what will be; and that which will be after him, who can tell him? The labor of fools wearies every one of them; for he doesn't know how to go to the city. Woe to you, land, when your king is a child, and your princes eat in the morning! Happy are you, land, when your king is the son of nobles, and your princes eat in due season, for strength, and not for drunkenness! By slothfulness the roof sinks in; and through idleness of the hands the house leaks. A feast is made for laughter, and wine makes the life glad; and money is the answer for all things. Don't curse the king, no, not in your thoughts; and don't curse the rich in your bedroom: for a bird of the sky may carry your voice, and that which has wings may tell the matter.”

“If the anger of the ruler flares up against you, do not resign from your position, for a calm response can undo great offenses. I have seen another misfortune on the earth: It is an error a ruler makes. Fools are placed in many positions of authority, while wealthy men sit in lowly positions. I have seen slaves on horseback and princes walking on foot like slaves. Wisdom is Needed to Avert Dangers in Everyday Life One who digs a pit may fall into it, and one who breaks through a wall may be bitten by a snake. One who quarries stones may be injured by them; one who splits logs may be endangered by them. If an iron axhead is blunt and a workman does not sharpen its edge, he must exert a great deal of effort; so wisdom has the advantage of giving success. If the snake should bite before it is charmed, the snake charmer is in trouble. Words and Works of Wise Men and Fools The words of a wise person win him favor, but the words of a fool are self-destructive. At the beginning his words are foolish and at the end his talk is wicked madness, yet a fool keeps on babbling. No one knows what will happen; who can tell him what will happen in the future? The toil of a stupid fool wears him out, because he does not even know the way to the city. The Problem with Foolish Rulers Woe to you, O land, when your king is childish, and your princes feast in the morning! Blessed are you, O land, when your king is the son of nobility, and your princes feast at the proper time– with self-control and not in drunkenness. Because of laziness the roof caves in, and because of idle hands the house leaks. Feasts are made for laughter, and wine makes life merry, but money is the answer for everything. Do not curse a king even in your thoughts, and do not curse the rich while in your bedroom; for a bird might report what you are thinking, or some winged creature might repeat your words.”

“If the spirit of him that hath power, ascend upon thee, leave not thy place: because care will make the greatest sins to cease. There is an evil that I have seen under the sun, as it were by an error proceeding from the face of the prince: A fool set in high dignity, and the rich sitting beneath. I have seen servants upon horses: and princes walking on the ground as servants. He that diggeth a pit, shall fall into it: and he that breaketh a hedge, a serpent shall bite him. He that removeth stones, shall be hurt by them: and he that cutteth trees, shall be wounded by them. If the iron be blunt, and be not as before, but be made blunt, with much labour it shall be sharpened: and after industry shall follow wisdom. If a serpent bite in silence, he is nothing better that backbiteth secretly. The words of the mouth of a wise man are grace: but the lips of a fool shall throw him down headlong. The beginning of his words is folly, and the end of his talk is a mischievous error. A fool multiplieth words. A man cannot tell what hath been before him: and what shall be after him, who can tell him? The labour of fools shall afflict them that know not how to go to the city. Woe to thee, O land, when thy king is a child, and when the princes eat in the morning. Blessed is the land, whose king is noble, and whose princes eat in due season for refreshment, and not for riotousness. By slothfulness a building shall be brought down, and through the weakness of hands, the house shall drop through. For laughter they make bread, and wine that the living may feast: and all things obey money. Detract not the king, no not in thy thought; and speak not evil of the rich man in thy private chamber: because even the birds of the air will carry thy voice, and he that hath wings will tell what thou hast said. ”

“If the wrath of the ruler is against you, keep in your place; in him who keeps quiet even great sins may be overlooked. There is an evil which I have seen under the sun, like an error which comes by chance from a ruler: The foolish are placed in high positions, but men of wealth are kept low. I have seen servants on horses, and rulers walking on the earth as servants. He who makes a hole for others will himself go into it, and for him who makes a hole through a wall the bite of a snake will be a punishment. He who gets out stones from the earth will be damaged by them, and in the cutting of wood there is danger. If the iron has no edge, and he does not make it sharp, then he has to put out more strength; but wisdom makes things go well. If a snake gives a bite before the word of power is said, then there is no longer any use in the word of power. The words of a wise man's mouth are sweet to all, but the lips of a foolish man are his destruction. The first words of his mouth are foolish, and the end of his talk is evil crime. The foolish are full of words; man has no knowledge of what will be; and who is able to say what will be after him? The work of the foolish will be a weariness to him, because he has no knowledge of the way to the town. Unhappy is the land whose king is a boy, and whose rulers are feasting in the morning. Happy is the land whose ruler is of noble birth, and whose chiefs take food at the right time, for strength and not for feasting. When no work is done the roof goes in, and when the hands do nothing water comes into the house. A feast is for laughing, and wine makes glad the heart; but by the one and the other money is wasted. Say not a curse against the king, even in your thoughts; and even secretly say not a curse against the man of wealth; because a bird of the air will take the voice, and that which has wings will give news of it.”

“If the spirit of the ruler rise up against thee, leave not thy place; for yielding pacifieth great offences. There is an evil which I have seen under the sun, as an error which proceedeth from the ruler: Folly is set in great dignity, and the rich sit in low place. I have seen servants upon horses, and princes walking as servants upon the earth. He that diggeth a pit shall fall into it; and whoso breaketh an hedge, a serpent shall bite him. Whoso removeth stones shall be hurt therewith; and he that cleaveth wood shall be endangered thereby. 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. Surely the serpent will bite without enchantment; and a babbler is no better. The words of a wise man’s mouth are gracious; but the lips of a fool will swallow up himself. The beginning of the words of his mouth is foolishness: and the end of his talk is mischievous madness. A fool also is full of words: a man cannot tell what shall be; and what shall be after him, who can tell him? The labour of the foolish wearieth every one of them, because he knoweth not how to go to the city. Woe to thee, O land, when thy king is a child, and thy princes eat in the morning! 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! By much slothfulness the building decayeth; and through idleness of the hands the house droppeth through. A feast is made for laughter, and wine maketh merry: but money answereth all things. 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. ”