Ecclesiastes 10:20

Bible in Basic English (1941)

Say not a curse against the king, even in your thoughts; and even secretly say not a curse against the man of wealth; because a bird of the air will take the voice, and that which has wings will give news of it.

Additional Resources

Referenced Verses

  • Exod 22:28 : 28 You may not say evil of the judges, or put a curse on the ruler of your people.
  • Acts 23:5 : 5 And Paul said, Brother, I had no idea that he was the high priest: for it has been said, You may not say evil about the ruler of your people.
  • 2 Kgs 6:12 : 12 And one of them said, Not one of us, my lord king; but Elisha, the prophet in Israel, gives the king of Israel news of the words you say even in your bedroom.
  • Eccl 7:21-22 : 21 Do not give ear to all the words which men say, for fear of hearing the curses of your servant. 22 Your heart has knowledge how frequently others have been cursed by you.
  • Isa 8:21 : 21 And he will go through the land in bitter trouble and in need of food; and when he is unable to get food, he will become angry, cursing his king and his God, and his eyes will be turned to heaven on high;
  • Luke 10:40 : 40 But Martha had her hands full of the work of the house, and she came to him and said, Lord, is it nothing to you that my sister has let me do all the work? Say to her that she is to give me some help.
  • Luke 12:2-3 : 2 But nothing is covered up, which will not come to light, or secret, which will not be made clear. 3 So, whatever you have said in the dark, will come to men's hearing in the light, and what you have said secretly inside the house, will be made public from the house-tops.
  • Luke 19:40 : 40 And he said in answer, I say to you, if these men keep quiet, the very stones will be crying out.

Similar Verses (AI)

These verses are found using AI-powered semantic similarity based on meaning and context. Results may occasionally include unexpected connections.

  • Eccl 7:21-22
    2 verses
    72%

    21 Do not give ear to all the words which men say, for fear of hearing the curses of your servant.

    22 Your heart has knowledge how frequently others have been cursed by you.

  • 28 You may not say evil of the judges, or put a curse on the ruler of your people.

  • 72%

    10 Do not say evil of a servant to his master, or he will put a curse on you, and you will get into trouble.

    11 There is a generation who put a curse on their father, and do not give a blessing to their mother.

  • 2 As the sparrow in her wandering and the swallow in her flight, so the curse does not come without a cause.

  • Prov 23:4-5
    2 verses
    71%

    4 Take no care to get wealth; let there be an end to your desire for money.

    5 Are your eyes lifted up to it? it is gone: for wealth takes to itself wings, like an eagle in flight up to heaven.

  • 10 Decision is in the lips of the king: his mouth will not go wrong in judging.

  • 14 He who gives a blessing to his friend with a loud voice, getting up early in the morning, will have it put to his account as a curse.

  • Prov 25:6-8
    3 verses
    69%

    6 Do not take glory for yourself before the king, and do not put yourself in the place of the great:

    7 For it is better to have it said to you, Come up here; than for you to be put down in a lower place before the ruler.

    8 Do not be quick to go to law about what you have seen, for what will you do in the end, when your neighbour has put you to shame?

  • 68%

    16 Unhappy is the land whose king is a boy, and whose rulers are feasting in the morning.

    17 Happy is the land whose ruler is of noble birth, and whose chiefs take food at the right time, for strength and not for feasting.

  • 2 I say to you, Keep the king's law, from respect for the oath of God.

  • 4 The word of a king has authority; and who may say to him, What is this you are doing?

  • 2 The wrath of a king is like the loud cry of a lion: he who makes him angry does wrong against himself.

  • 67%

    18 For fear that the Lord may see it, and it may be evil in his eyes, and his wrath may be turned away from him.

    19 Do not be troubled because of evil-doers, or have envy of sinners:

  • 19 A feast is for laughing, and wine makes glad the heart; but by the one and the other money is wasted.

  • 67%

    19 He who goes about talking of the business of others gives away secrets: so have nothing to do with him whose lips are open wide.

    20 If anyone puts a curse on his father or his mother, his light will be put out in the blackest night.

  • 10 Or your hearer may say evil of you, and your shame will not be turned away.

  • 21 My son, go in fear of the Lord and the king: have nothing to do with those who are in high positions:

  • 8 It is good generally for a country where the land is worked to have a king.

  • 22 The blessing of the Lord gives wealth: hard work makes it no greater.

  • 27 As the fowl-house is full of birds, so are their houses full of deceit: for this reason they have become great and have got wealth.

  • 10 Material comfort is not good for the foolish; much less for a servant to be put over rulers.

  • 14 The wrath of the king is like those who give news of death, but a wise man will put peace in place of it.

  • Job 34:18-19
    2 verses
    67%

    18 He who says to a king, You are an evil-doer; and to rulers, You are sinners;

    19 Who has no respect for rulers, and who gives no more attention to those who have wealth than to the poor, for they are all the work of his hands.

  • Eccl 10:4-6
    3 verses
    67%

    4 If the wrath of the ruler is against you, keep in your place; in him who keeps quiet even great sins may be overlooked.

    5 There is an evil which I have seen under the sun, like an error which comes by chance from a ruler:

    6 The foolish are placed in high positions, but men of wealth are kept low.

  • 7 Fair words are not to be looked for from a foolish man, much less are false lips in a ruler.

  • Job 36:18-19
    2 verses
    66%

    18 ...

    19 ...

  • 6 Blessings are on the head of the upright, but the face of sinners will be covered with sorrow.

  • 19 Where there is much talk there will be no end to sin, but he who keeps his mouth shut does wisely.

  • 2 Let another man give you praise, and not your mouth; one who is strange to you, and not your lips.

  • 2 As a dream comes from much business, so the voice of a foolish man comes with words in great number.

  • 30 (For I did not let my mouth give way to sin, in putting a curse on his life;)

  • 8 A man will give his wealth in exchange for his life; but the poor will not give ear to sharp words.

  • 14 And I have put my hands on the wealth of the peoples, as on the place where a bird has put her eggs; and as a man may take the eggs from which a bird has gone, so I have taken all the earth for myself: and not a wing was moved, and not a mouth gave out a sound.

  • 10 Have no faith in the rewards of evil-doing, or in profits wrongly made: if your wealth is increased, do not put your hopes on it.

  • 20 A man of good faith will have great blessing, but one attempting to get wealth quickly will not go free from punishment.

  • 11 Like the partridge, getting eggs together but not producing young, is a man who gets wealth but not by right; before half his days are ended, it will go from him, and at his end he will be foolish.

  • 10 The chiefs kept back their words, and their tongues were joined to the roofs of their mouths.

  • 10 Out of the same mouth comes blessing and cursing. My brothers, it is not right for these things to be so.