10 As dead flies cause even a bottle of perfume to stink, so a little foolishness spoils great wisdom and honor. 2 A wise person chooses the right road; a fool takes the wrong one. 3 You can identify fools just by the way they walk down the street! 4 If your boss is angry at you, don’t quit! A quiet spirit can overcome even great mistakes.

The Ironies of Life

5 There is another evil I have seen under the sun. Kings and rulers make a grave mistake 6 when they give great authority to foolish people and low positions to people of proven worth. 7 I have even seen servants riding horseback like princes—and princes walking like servants! 8 When you dig a well, you could be bitten by a snake. 9 When you work in a quarry, there is danger with each stroke of your ax. 10 Using a dull ax requires great strength, it helps you succeed. 11 If a snake bites before you charm it, what’s the use of being a snake charmer? 12 Wise words bring approval, but fools are destroyed by their own words. 13 Fools base their thoughts on foolish assumptions, so their conclusions will be wicked madness; 14 they chatter on and on. no one can predict the future. 15 Fools are so exhausted by a little work that they can’t even find their way home. 16 What sorrow for the land ruled by a servant, the land whose leaders feast in the morning. 17 Happy is the land whose king is a noble leader to gain strength for their work, not to get drunk. 18 Laziness leads to a sagging roof; idleness leads to a leaky house. 19 A party gives laughter, and money gives everything! 20 Never make light of the king, even in your thoughts. and tell them what you said.