Ecclesiastes 10

Reading Ecclesiastes chapter 10 in the American Standard Version, public-domain text from 1901.

Verses 1–10

1 Dead flies cause the oil of the perfumer to send forth an evil odor; so doth a little folly outweigh wisdom and honor.

2 A wise man’s heart is at his right hand; but a fool’s heart at his left.

3 Yea also, when the fool walketh by the way, his understanding faileth him, and he saith to every one that he is a fool.

4 If the spirit of the ruler rise up against thee, leave not thy place; for gentleness allayeth great offences.

5 There is an evil which I have seen under the sun, as it were an error which proceedeth from the ruler:

6 folly is set in great dignity, and the rich sit in a low place.

7 I have seen servants upon horses, and princes walking like servants upon the earth.

8 He that diggeth a pit shall fall into it; and whoso breaketh through a wall, a serpent shall bite him.

9 Whoso heweth out stones shall be hurt therewith; and he that cleaveth wood is endangered thereby.

10 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.

Ecclesiastes in other translations

• KJV Ecclesiastes
• Darby Ecclesiastes
• DRC Ecclesiastes
• WEB Ecclesiastes
• Webster Ecclesiastes
• YLT Ecclesiastes

About this translation

The American Standard Version (1901) is one of seven public-domain translations available in the OCC Bible Explorer. Use the full app to compare translations side by side, search across all translations, and explore Strong's Hebrew and Greek concordance entries linked to every word.