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⁸Whoever digs a pit will fall into it; and whoever breaks through a wall will be bitten by a snake. ⁹Whoever quarries stones will be hurt by them; and whoever splits logs will be endangered by them. ¹⁰If the iron is blunt, and one does not whet the edge, then more strength must be exerted; but wisdom helps one to succeed. ¹¹If the snake bites before it is charmed, there is no advantage in a charmer.

¹²Words spoken by the wise bring them favor, but the lips of fools consume them. ¹³The words of their mouths begin in foolishness, and their talk ends in wicked madness; ¹⁴yet fools talk on and on. No one knows what is to happen, and who can tell anyone what the future holds? ¹⁵The toil of fools wears them out, for they do not even know the way to town.

¹⁶Alas for you, O land, when your king is a servant, and your princes feast in the morning! ¹⁷Happy are you, O land, when your king is a nobleman, and your princes feast at the proper time— for strength, and not for drunkenness! ¹⁸Through sloth the roof sinks in, and through indolence the house leaks. ¹⁹Feasts are made for laughter; wine gladdens life, and money meets every need. ²⁰Do not curse the king, even in your thoughts, or curse the rich, even in your bedroom; for a bird of the air may carry your voice, or some winged creature tell the matter.

11Send out your bread upon the waters, for after many days you will get it back. ²Divide your means seven ways, or even eight, for you do not know what disaster may happen on earth. ³When clouds are full, they empty rain on the earth; whether a tree falls to the south or to the north, in the place where the tree falls, there it will lie. ⁴Whoever observes the wind will not sow; and whoever regards the clouds will not reap. ⁵Just as you do not know how the breath comes to the bones in the mother’s womb, so you do not know the work of God, who makes everything. ⁶In the morning sow your seed, and at evening do not let your hands be idle; for you do not know which will prosper, this or that, or whether both alike will be good.

³³But strive first for the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. ³⁴“So do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will bring worries of its own. Today’s trouble is enough for today.