Ecclesiastes 7
1 A good name is better than fine perfume, and one’s day of death is better than his day of birth.
A good name is better than oil of great price, and the day of death than the day of birth.
2 It is better to enter a house of mourning than a house of feasting, since death is the end of every man, and the living should take this to heart.
It is better to go to the house of weeping, than to go to the house of feasting; because that is the end of every man, and the living will take it to their hearts.
3 Sorrow is better than laughter, for a sad countenance is good for the heart.
Sorrow is better than joy; when the face is sad the mind gets better.
4 The heart of the wise is in the house of mourning, but the heart of fools is in the house of pleasure.
The hearts of the wise are in the house of weeping; but the hearts of the foolish are in the house of joy.
5 It is better to heed a wise man’s rebuke than to listen to the song of fools.
It is better to take note of the protest of the wise, than for a man to give ear to the song of the foolish.
6 For like the crackling of thorns under the pot, so is the laughter of the fool. This too is futile.
Like the cracking of thorns under a pot, so is the laugh of a foolish man; and this again is to no purpose.
7 Surely extortion turns a wise man into a fool, and a bribe corrupts the heart.
The wise are troubled by the ways of the cruel, and the giving of money is the destruction of the heart.
8 The end of a matter is better than the beginning, and a patient spirit is better than a proud one.
The end of a thing is better than its start, and a gentle spirit is better than pride.
9 Do not be quickly provoked in your spirit, for anger settles in the lap of a fool.
Be not quick to let your spirit be angry; because wrath is in the heart of the foolish.
10 Do not say, “Why were the old days better than these?” For it is unwise of you to ask about this.
Say not, Why were the days which have gone by better than these? Such a question comes not from wisdom.
11 Wisdom, like an inheritance, is good, and it benefits those who see the sun.
Wisdom together with a heritage is good, and a profit to those who see the sun.
12 For wisdom, like money, is a shelter, and the advantage of knowledge is that wisdom preserves the life of its owner.
Wisdom keeps a man from danger even as money does; but the value of knowledge is that wisdom gives life to its owner.
13 Consider the work of God: Who can straighten what He has bent?
Give thought to the work of God. Who will make straight what he has made bent?
14 In the day of prosperity, be joyful, but in the day of adversity, consider this: God has made one of these along with the other, so that a man cannot discover anything that will come after him.
In the day of wealth have joy, but in the day of evil take thought: God has put the one against the other, so that man may not be certain what will be after him.
15 In my futile life I have seen both of these: A righteous man perishing in his righteousness, and a wicked man living long in his wickedness.
These two have I seen in my life which is to no purpose: a good man coming to his end in his righteousness, and an evil man whose days are long in his evil-doing.
16 Do not be overly righteous, and do not make yourself too wise. Why should you destroy yourself?
Be not given overmuch to righteousness and be not over-wise. Why let destruction come on you?
17 Do not be excessively wicked, and do not be a fool. Why should you die before your time?
Be not evil overmuch, and be not foolish. Why come to your end before your time?
18 It is good to grasp the one and not let the other slip from your hand. For he who fears God will follow both warnings.
It is good to take this in your hand and not to keep your hand from that; he who has the fear of God will be free of the two.
19 Wisdom makes the wise man stronger than ten rulers in a city.
Wisdom makes a wise man stronger than ten rulers in a town.
20 Surely there is no righteous man on earth who does good and never sins.
There is no man on earth of such righteousness that he does good and is free from sin all his days.
21 Do not pay attention to every word that is spoken, or you may hear your servant cursing you.
Do not give ear to all the words which men say, for fear of hearing the curses of your servant.
22 For you know in your heart that many times you yourself have cursed others.
Your heart has knowledge how frequently others have been cursed by you.
23 All this I tested by wisdom, saying, “I resolve to be wise.” But it was beyond me.
All this I have put to the test by wisdom; I said, I will be wise, but it was far from me.
24 What exists is out of reach and very deep. Who can fathom it?
Far off is true existence, and very deep; who may have knowledge of it?
25 I directed my mind to understand, to explore, to search out wisdom and explanations, and to understand the stupidity of wickedness and the folly of madness.
I gave my mind to knowledge and to searching for wisdom and the reason of things, and to the discovery that sin is foolish, and that to be foolish is to be without one's senses.
26 And I find more bitter than death the woman who is a snare, whose heart is a net, and whose hands are chains. The man who pleases God escapes her, but the sinner is ensnared.
And I saw a thing more bitter than death, even the woman whose heart is full of tricks and nets, and whose hands are as bands. He with whom God is pleased will get free from her, but the sinner will be taken by her.
27 “Behold,” says the Teacher, “I have discovered this by adding one thing to another to find an explanation.
Look! this I have seen, said the Preacher, taking one thing after another to get the true account,
28 While my soul was still searching but not finding, among a thousand I have found one upright man, but among all these I have not found one such woman.
For which my soul is still searching, but I have it not; one man among a thousand have I seen; but a woman among all these I have not seen.
29 Only this have I found: I have discovered that God made men upright, but they have sought out many schemes.”
This only have I seen, that God made men upright, but they have been searching out all sorts of inventions.
