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 precious ointments, and a day of death is better than a 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 a house of mourning, than to a house of feasting. For in the former, we are admonished about the end of all things, so that the living consider what may be in the future.
3 Sorrow is better than laughter, for a sad countenance is good for the heart.
Anger is better than laughter. For through the sadness of the countenance, the soul of one who offends may be corrected.
4 The heart of the wise is in the house of mourning, but the heart of fools is in the house of pleasure.
The heart of the wise is a place of mourning, and the heart of the foolish is a place of rejoicing.
5 It is better to heed a wise man’s rebuke than to listen to the song of fools.
It is better to be corrected by a wise man, than to be deceived by the false praise of the foolish.
6 For like the crackling of thorns under the pot, so is the laughter of the fool. This too is futile.
For, like the crackling of thorns burning under a pot, so is the laughter of the foolish. But this, too, is emptiness.
7 Surely extortion turns a wise man into a fool, and a bribe corrupts the heart.
A false accusation troubles the wise man and saps the strength of his 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 speech is better than the beginning. Patience is better than arrogance.
9 Do not be quickly provoked in your spirit, for anger settles in the lap of a fool.
Do not be quickly moved to anger. For anger resides in the sinews 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.
You should not say: “What do you think is the reason that the former times were better than they are now?” For this type of question is foolish.
11 Wisdom, like an inheritance, is good, and it benefits those who see the sun.
Wisdom with riches is more useful and more advantageous, for 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.
For as wisdom protects, so also does money protect. But learning and wisdom have this much more: that they grant life to one who possesses them.
13 Consider the work of God: Who can straighten what He has bent?
Consider the works of God, that no one is able to correct whomever he has despised.
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 good times, enjoy good things, but beware of an evil time. For just as God has established the one, so also the other, in order that man may not find any just complaint against 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.
I also saw this, in the days of my vanity: a just man perishing in his justice, and an impious man living a long time in his malice.
16 Do not be overly righteous, and do not make yourself too wise. Why should you destroy yourself?
Do not try to be overly just, and do not try to be more wise than is necessary, lest you become stupid.
17 Do not be excessively wicked, and do not be a fool. Why should you die before your time?
Do not act with great impiety, and do not choose to be foolish, lest you die 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 for you to support a just man. Furthermore, you should not withdraw your hand from him, for whoever fears God, neglects nothing.
19 Wisdom makes the wise man stronger than ten rulers in a city.
Wisdom has strengthened the wise more than ten princes of a city.
20 Surely there is no righteous man on earth who does good and never sins.
But there is no just man on earth, who does good and does not sin.
21 Do not pay attention to every word that is spoken, or you may hear your servant cursing you.
So then, do not attach your heart to every word that is spoken, lest perhaps you may hear your servant speaking ill of you.
22 For you know in your heart that many times you yourself have cursed others.
For your conscience knows that you, too, have repeatedly spoken evil of others.
23 All this I tested by wisdom, saying, “I resolve to be wise.” But it was beyond me.
I have tested everything in wisdom. I have said: “I will be wise.” And wisdom withdrew farther from me,
24 What exists is out of reach and very deep. Who can fathom it?
so much more than it was before. Wisdom is very profound, so who shall reveal her?
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 have examined all things in my soul, so that I may know, and consider, and seek out wisdom and reason, and so that I may recognize the impiety of the foolish, and the error of the imprudent.
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 have discovered a woman more bitter than death: she who is like the snare of a hunter, and whose heart is like a net, and whose hands are like chains. Whoever pleases God shall flee from her. But whoever is a sinner shall be seized by her.
27 “Behold,” says the Teacher, “I have discovered this by adding one thing to another to find an explanation.
Behold, Ecclesiastes said, I have discovered these things, one after another, in order that I might discover the explanation
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.
which my soul still seeks and has not found. One man among a thousand, I have found; a woman among them all, I have not found.
29 Only this have I found: I have discovered that God made men upright, but they have sought out many schemes.”
This alone have I discovered: that God made man righteous, and yet he has adulterated himself with innumerable questions. Who is so great as the wise? And who has understood the meaning of the word?
