Ecclésiaste 10.16
New International Version

Réflexions sur la folie

¹ As dead flies give perfume a bad smell,
so a little folly outweighs wisdom and honor.

² The heart of the wise inclines to the right,
but the heart of the fool to the left.

³ Even as fools walk along the road,
they lack sense
and show everyone how stupid they are.

⁴ If a ruler’s anger rises against you,
do not leave your post;
calmness can lay great offenses to rest.

⁵ There is an evil I have seen under the sun,
the sort of error that arises from a ruler:

⁶ Fools are put in many high positions,
while the rich occupy the low ones.

⁷ I have seen slaves on horseback,
while princes go on foot like slaves.

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.

¹⁰ If the ax is dull
and its edge unsharpened,
more strength is needed,
but skill will bring success.

¹¹ If a snake bites before it is charmed,
the charmer receives no fee.

¹² Words from the mouth of the wise are gracious,
but fools are consumed by their own lips.

¹³ At the beginning their words are folly;
at the end they are wicked madness —

¹⁴ and fools multiply words.
No one knows what is coming —
who can tell someone else what will happen after them?

¹⁵ The toil of fools wearies them;
they do not know the way to town.

¹⁶ Woe to the land whose king was a servant
and whose princes feast in the morning.

¹⁷ Blessed is the land whose king is of noble birth
and whose princes eat at a proper time —
for strength and not for drunkenness.

¹⁸ Through laziness, the rafters sag;
because of idle hands, the house leaks.

¹⁹ A feast is made for laughter,
wine makes life merry,
and money is the answer for everything.

²⁰ Do not revile the king even in your thoughts,
or curse the rich in your bedroom,
because a bird in the sky may carry your words,
and a bird on the wing may report what you say.