10:1 Dead flies make the perfumer’s ointment give off a stench;
so a little folly outweighs wisdom and honor.
2 A wise man’s heart inclines him to the right,
but a fool’s heart to the left.
3 Even when the fool walks on the road, he lacks sense,
and he says to everyone that he is a fool.
4 If the anger of the ruler rises against you, do not leave your place,
for calmness will lay great offenses to rest.
5 There is an evil that I have seen under the sun, as it were an error proceeding from the ruler: 6 folly is set in many high places, and the rich sit in a low place. 7 I have seen slaves on horses, and princes walking on the ground like slaves.
8 He who digs a pit will fall into it,
and a serpent will bite him who breaks through a wall.
9 He who quarries stones is hurt by them,
and he who splits logs is endangered by them.
10 If the iron is blunt, and one does not sharpen the edge,
he must use more strength,
but wisdom helps one to succeed.
11 If the serpent bites before it is charmed,
there is no advantage to the charmer.
12 The words of a wise man’s mouth win him favor,
but the lips of a fool consume him.
13 The beginning of the words of his mouth is foolishness,
and the end of his talk is evil madness.
14 A fool multiplies words,
though no man knows what is to be,
and who can tell him what will be after him?
15 The toil of a fool wearies him,
for he does not know the way to the city.
16 Woe to you, O land, when your king is a child,
and your princes feast in the morning!
17 Happy are you, O land, when your king is the son of the nobility,
and your princes feast at the proper time,
for strength, and not for drunkenness!
18 Through sloth the roof sinks in,
and through indolence the house leaks.
19 Bread is made for laughter,
and wine gladdens life,
and money answers everything.
20 Even in your thoughts, do not curse the king,
nor in your bedroom curse the rich,
for a bird of the air will carry your voice,
or some winged creature tell the matter. (ESV)
20 Do not revile the king even in your thoughts, or curse the rich in your bedroom, because a bird of the air may carry your words, and a bird on the wing may report what you say.
This verse makes a good point that it is never okay for us to speak badly about others. Our words have a way of getting around and therefore we should be careful about what we say.
20 Do not revile the king even in your thoughts, or curse the rich in your bedroom, because a bird of the air may carry your words, and a bird on the wing may report what you say.
This verse caught my eye and helped remind me to not gossip! Gossiping is one of those things that most people can just not help but do…but it is saying here do not do it at all, because when you do the word gets around, some how, some way people will find out. Of course fear of others hearing what you say should not be the only reason you stop gossiping, we should want to stop because it is a sin and we should be being kind and loving. I don’t know about you but i don’t want to be known as someone who talks bad about others! I want to strive to bring others up and treat them how i want to be treated.
And if someone knows can you explain verse 19 to me?…the part where it says money is the answer to everything confused me. thank you:]
18 If a man is lazy, the rafters sag; if his hands are idle, the house leaks.
this verse is pretty straight forward. it says that we shouldnt be lazy. his rafters sagged because he was lazy and didnt take care of them. in the same way we should take care of things and not be lazy. if his hands are idle the house leaks, so we should always be working or doing something, because like it has been said many times before, being lazy is foolish.
8 Whoever digs a pit may fall into it; whoever breaks through a wall may be bitten by a snake.
9 Whoever quarries stones may be injured by them; whoever splits logs may be endangered by them.
So i dont know if i understood this correctly but what i got out of these verses is…………
If we put our self in the position where we would sin, like digging a pit, we are bound to sin or fall. So if nonchristians ask us to hang out and you know that they arent going to be doing things that are pleasing to God then you SHOULDNT go. You will just put yyourself in a bad position.
20 Do not revile the king even in your thoughts, or curse the rich in your bedroom, because a bird of the air may carry your words, and a bird on the wing may report what you say.
this verse stood out to me too because gossiping is a bad problem for highschoolers today. This verse reminds us that no matter what, somebody will find out what you say and those hurting words willl cause big problems. I loved what Ashlyn said about how we should strive to bring others up and treat them how we want to be treated.
If you dont have anything NICE to say, DONT say anything at all (=
1 As dead flies give perfume a bad smell, so a little folly outweighs wisdom and honor.
I really like this verse. At my church from when I was younger, we did a demonstration about this: We made chocolate milkshakes… they represented “good”… Then we added just one little sardine… now it represented “bad”. It only takes one little thing to turn something bad. “It only takes one sin to make someone a sinner”. But the good news is that we have Jesus Christ to turn to for forgiveness. I still need to make sure that I’m ridding all “folly” from my life and living solely for God in everything I do.
And… Like Ashlyn, verse 19 is confusing me… Money is the answer for everything???
I am going to try to explain verse 19; it was confusing to me at first too, but glory be to God that I have a MacArthur study Bible :). In the commentary it says that verse 19 is related to verse 18, which is also related to something else in itself. 18 is refering to a king who is lazy and is letting his kindom fall apart while he is partying. This helps explain the “party” theme in the beging of verse 19 and ultimately the second half of 19 also. John MacArthur explains that when Solomon says “money is the answer to everything” he means that the king in verse 18 thinks that raising taxes will solve all his problems of his partying and fix his dying kingdom. Sadly, in reality, the problem is the king’s lazy party attitude that needs to be fixed, and then after this he needs to begin to fix his kingdom. It is still kinda confusing, but I pray this helps :)
Verses 18 and 19 were prety interesting. They are saying that basicly we shouldn’t be lazy and that we need to have our priorities striaght. Especialy durring summer it is easy to get lazy and just have fun and forget about the work that we have to do. As Christians we need to be focused on working or doing schoolwork for God’s glory and giving it our all because that is what we are commanded to do and not get lazy.
I like what Cameron and David said about verse 18.
Laziness, in my mind, is such an underestimated sin in our culture. It seems like we strive to be as lazy as we can while still getting what we want. I pray that we will be on gaurd against laziness and understand that it is a SIN and wasting time that could be used studying the word, praying, or evangelizing! Be on guard against those lazy desires and work diligently so that when the Lord returns He may say, “Well done, my good and faithful servant”
1 As dead flies give perfume a bad smell, so a little folly outweighs wisdom and honor
We should be careful what we do because a little bit of sin can pull us farther and farther away from God. We should make sure that we put to death all sin in our lives
Gracious for the clarification hunter! it did helppp
10 If the ax is dull and its edge unsharpened, more strength is needed but skill will bring success.
this reminds me of the verse iron sharpens iron. God’s Word is what sharpens us and he gives us strength
20 Do not revile the king even in your thoughts, or curse the rich in your bedroom, because a bird of the air may carry your words, and a bird on the wing may report what you say.
Remember, watch what you say..because word gets around.
20 Do not revile the king even in your thoughts, or curse the rich in your bedroom, because a bird of the air may carry your words, and a bird on the wing may report what you say.
I agree with Jenae and Ashlyn! Gossipping is a bad problem for many people! Its not good, and it is a sin. This verse does remind us to be careful what we say. And it is true how someone will always find out what you say!