---
title: "Ecclesiastes 10 – Catholic Bible (CPDV) & Latin Vulgate"
url: https://blessbible.app/bible/ecclesiastes/10/
description: "Observations on wisdom and folly, ambition and detraction. Ecclesiastes 10 in the Catholic Public Domain Version, with the Latin Vulgate."
---

# Ecclesiastes 10

Ecclesiastes 10 is chapter 10 of 12 in the Book of Ecclesiastes. Here are all 20 verses in the Catholic Public Domain Version, with the Latin of the Clementine Vulgate beside them.

> Observations on wisdom and folly, ambition and detraction.
>
> — Bp. Richard Challoner, chapter summary

## Ecclesiastes 10 (Catholic Public Domain Version)

1. Dying flies ruin the sweetness of the ointment. Wisdom and glory is more precious than a brief and limited foolishness.
2. The heart of a wise man is in his right hand, and the heart of a foolish man is in his left hand.
3. Moreover, as a foolish man is walking along the way, even though he himself is unwise, he considers everyone to be foolish.
4. If the spirit of one who holds authority rises over you, do not leave your place, because attentiveness will cause the greatest sins to cease.
5. There is an evil which I have seen under the sun, proceeding from the presence of a prince, as if by mistake:
6. a foolish man appointed to a high dignity, and the rich sitting beneath him.
7. I have seen servants on horses, and princes walking on the ground like servants.
8. Whoever digs a pit will fall into it. And whoever tears apart a hedge, a snake will bite him.
9. Whoever carries away stones will be harmed by them. And whoever cuts down trees will be wounded by them.
10. If the iron is dull, and if it was not that way before, but has been made dull by much labor, then it will be sharpened. And wisdom will follow after diligence.
11. Whoever slanders in secret is nothing less than a snake that bites silently.
12. Words from the mouth of a wise man are graceful, but the lips of a foolish man will throw him down with violence.
13. At the beginning of his words is foolishness, and at the end of his talk is a most grievous error.
14. The fool multiplies his words. A man does not know what has been before him, and who is able to reveal to him what will be in the future after him?
15. The hardship of the foolish will afflict those who do not know to go into the city.
16. Woe to you, the land whose king is a boy, and whose princes consume in the morning.
17. Blessed is the land whose king is noble, and whose princes eat at the proper time, for refreshment and not for self-indulgence.
18. By laziness, a framework shall be brought down, and by the weakness of hands, a house shall collapse through.
19. While laughing, they make bread and wine, so that the living may feast. And all things are obedient to money.
20. You should not slander the king, even in your thoughts, and you should not speak evil of a wealthy man, even in your private chamber. For even the birds of the air will carry your voice, and whatever has wings will announce your opinion.

## Ecclesiastes 10 in Latin (Clementine Vulgate, 1592)

1. Muscæ morientes perdunt suavitatem unguenti. Pretiosior est sapientia et gloria, parva et ad tempus stultitia.
2. Cor sapientis in dextera ejus, et cor stulti in sinistra illius.
3. Sed et in via stultus ambulans, cum ipse insipiens sit, omnes stultos æstimat.
4. Si spiritus potestatem habentis ascenderit super te, locum tuum ne demiseris, quia curatio faciet cessare peccata maxima.
5. Est malum quod vidi sub sole, quasi per errorem egrediens a facie principis:
6. positum stultum in dignitate sublimi, et divites sedere deorsum.
7. Vidi servos in equis, et principes ambulantes super terram quasi servos.
8. Qui fodit foveam incidet in eam, et qui dissipat sepem mordebit eum coluber.
9. Qui transfert lapides affligetur in eis, et qui scindit ligna vulnerabitur ab eis.
10. Si retusum fuerit ferrum, et hoc non ut prius, sed hebetatum fuerit, multo labore exacuetur, et post industriam sequetur sapientia.
11. Si mordeat serpens in silentio, nihil eo minus habet qui occulte detrahit.
12. Verba oris sapientis gratia, et labia insipientis præcipitabunt eum;
13. initium verborum ejus stultitia, et novissimum oris illius error pessimus.
14. Stultus verba multiplicat. Ignorat homo quid ante se fuerit; et quid post se futurum sit, quis ei poterit indicare?
15. Labor stultorum affliget eos, qui nesciunt in urbem pergere.
16. Væ tibi, terra, cujus rex puer est, et cujus principes mane comedunt.
17. Beata terra cujus rex nobilis est, et cujus principes vescuntur in tempore suo, ad reficiendum, et non ad luxuriam.
18. In pigritiis humiliabitur contignatio, et in infirmitate manuum perstillabit domus.
19. In risum faciunt panem et vinum ut epulentur viventes; et pecuniæ obediunt omnia.
20. In cogitatione tua regi ne detrahas, et in secreto cubiculi tui ne maledixeris diviti: quia et aves cæli portabunt vocem tuam, et qui habet pennas annuntiabit sententiam.

Source: Catholic Public Domain Version (Ronald L. Conte Jr., 2009), public domain; Latin: Clementine Vulgate (1592).