Dual Panel1Dead flies will cause even a bottle of perfume to stink! Yes, an ounce of foolishness can outweigh a pound of wisdom and honor.
2The hearts of the wise lead them to do right, and the hearts of the foolish lead them to do evil.
3You can identify fools just by the way they walk down the street!
4If your boss is angry with you, don’t quit! A quiet spirit can overcome even great mistakes.
5There is another evil I have seen as I have watched the world go by. Kings and rulers make a grave mistake
6if they give foolish people great authority, and if they fail to give people of proven worth their rightful place of dignity.
7I have even seen servants riding like princes––and princes walking like servants.
8When you dig a well, you may fall in. When you demolish an old wall, you could be bitten by a snake.
9When you work in a quarry, stones might fall and crush you! When you chop wood, there is danger with each stroke of your ax! Such are the risks of life.
10Since a dull ax requires great strength, sharpen the blade. That’s the value of wisdom; it helps you succeed.
11It does no good to charm a snake after it has bitten you.
12It is pleasant to listen to wise words, but the speech of fools brings them to ruin.
13Since fools base their thoughts on foolish premises, their conclusions will be wicked madness.
14Foolish people claim to know all about the future and tell everyone the details! But who can really know what is going to happen?
15Fools are so exhausted by a little work that they have no strength for even the simplest tasks.
16Destruction is certain for the land whose king is a child and whose leaders feast in the morning.
17Happy is the land whose king is a nobleman and whose leaders feast only to gain strength for their work, not to get drunk.
18Laziness lets the roof leak, and soon the rafters begin to rot.
19A party gives laughter, and wine gives happiness, and money gives everything!
20Never make light of the king, even in your thoughts. And don’t make fun of a rich man, either. A little bird may tell them what you have said.