Ecclesiastes 7
1 Better [is] a name than good perfume, And the day of death than the day of birth.
A good name is better than fine perfume, and one’s day of death is better than his day of birth.
2 Better to go to a house of mourning, Than to go to a house of banqueting, For that is the end of all men, And the living lays [it] to his heart.
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.
3 Better [is] sorrow than laughter, For by the sadness of the face the heart becomes better.
Sorrow is better than laughter, for a sad countenance is good for the heart.
4 The heart of the wise [is] in a house of mourning, And the heart of fools in a house of mirth.
The heart of the wise is in the house of mourning, but the heart of fools is in the house of pleasure.
5 Better to hear a rebuke of a wise man, Than [for] a man to hear a song of fools,
It is better to heed a wise man’s rebuke than to listen to the song of fools.
6 For as the noise of thorns under the pot, So [is] the laughter of a fool, even this [is] vanity.
For like the crackling of thorns under the pot, so is the laughter of the fool. This too is futile.
7 Surely oppression makes the wise mad, And a gift destroys the heart.
Surely extortion turns a wise man into a fool, and a bribe corrupts the heart.
8 Better [is] the latter end of a thing than its beginning, Better [is] the patient of spirit, than the haughty of spirit.
The end of a matter is better than the beginning, and a patient spirit is better than a proud one.
9 Do not be hasty in your spirit to be angry, For anger in the bosom of fools rests.
Do not be quickly provoked in your spirit, for anger settles in the lap of a fool.
10 Do not say, “What was it, That the former days were better than these?” For you have not asked wisely of this.
Do not say, “Why were the old days better than these?” For it is unwise of you to ask about this.
11 Wisdom [is] good with an inheritance, And an advantage [it is] to those beholding the sun.
Wisdom, like an inheritance, is good, and it benefits those who see the sun.
12 For wisdom [is] a defense, money [is] a defense, And the advantage of the knowledge of wisdom [is], She revives her possessors.
For wisdom, like money, is a shelter, and the advantage of knowledge is that wisdom preserves the life of its owner.
13 See the work of God, For who is able to make straight that which He made crooked?
Consider the work of God: Who can straighten what He has bent?
14 In a day of prosperity be in gladness, And in a day of calamity consider: God has also made this alongside of that, To the intent that man does not find anything after him.
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.
15 The whole I have considered in the days of my vanity. There is a righteous one perishing in his righteousness, and there is a wrongdoer prolonging [himself] in his wrong.
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.
16 Do not be over-righteous, nor show yourself too wise, why are you desolate?
Do not be overly righteous, and do not make yourself too wise. Why should you destroy yourself?
17 Do not do much wrong, neither be a fool, why do you die within your time?
Do not be excessively wicked, and do not be a fool. Why should you die before your time?
18 [It is] good that you lay hold on this, and also, do not withdraw your hand from that, for whoever is fearing God goes out with them all.
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.
19 The wisdom gives strength to a wise man, more than wealth the rulers who have been in a city.
Wisdom makes the wise man stronger than ten rulers in a city.
20 Because there is not a righteous man on earth that does good and does not sin.
Surely there is no righteous man on earth who does good and never sins.
21 Also to all the words that they speak do not give your heart, that you do not hear your servant reviling you.
Do not pay attention to every word that is spoken, or you may hear your servant cursing you.
22 For many times also has your heart known that you yourself have also reviled others.
For you know in your heart that many times you yourself have cursed others.
23 All this I have tried by wisdom; I have said, “I am wise,” and it [is] far from me.
All this I tested by wisdom, saying, “I resolve to be wise.” But it was beyond me.
24 Far off [is] that which has been, and deep, deep, who finds it?
What exists is out of reach and very deep. Who can fathom it?
25 I have turned around, also my heart, to know and to search, and to seek out wisdom, and reason, and to know the wrong of folly, and the madness of foolishness.
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.
26 And I am finding more bitter than death, the woman whose heart [is] nets and snares, her hands [are] bands; the good before God escapes from her, but the sinner is captured by her.
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.
27 See, this I have found, said the Preacher, one to one, to find out the reason
“Behold,” says the Teacher, “I have discovered this by adding one thing to another to find an explanation.
28 (that still my soul had sought, and I had not found), One man, a teacher, I have found, and a woman among all these I have not found.
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.
29 See, this alone I have found, that God made man upright, and they have sought out many inventions.
Only this have I found: I have discovered that God made men upright, but they have sought out many schemes.”
