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 precious ointments, and a day of death is better than a 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 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 Better [is] sorrow than laughter, For by the sadness of the face the heart becomes better.
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 a house of mourning, And the heart of fools in a house of mirth.
The heart of the wise is a place of mourning, and the heart of the foolish is a place of rejoicing.
5 Better to hear a rebuke of a wise man, Than [for] a man to hear a 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 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 burning under a pot, so is the laughter of the foolish. But this, too, is emptiness.
7 Surely oppression makes the wise mad, And a gift destroys the heart.
A false accusation troubles the wise man and saps the strength of his 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 speech is better than the beginning. Patience is better than arrogance.
9 Do not be hasty in your spirit to be angry, For anger in the bosom of fools rests.
Do not be quickly moved to anger. For anger resides in the sinews of the foolish.
10 Do not say, “What was it, That the former days were better than these?” For you have not asked wisely of 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 [is] good with an inheritance, And an advantage [it is] to those beholding the sun.
Wisdom with riches is more useful and more advantageous, for 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 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 See the work of God, For who is able to make straight that which He made crooked?
Consider the works of God, that no one is able to correct whomever he has despised.
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 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 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.
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 over-righteous, nor show yourself too wise, why are you desolate?
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 do much wrong, neither be a fool, why do you die within 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 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 for you to support a just man. Furthermore, you should not withdraw your hand from him, for whoever fears God, neglects nothing.
19 The wisdom gives strength to a wise man, more than wealth the rulers who have been in a city.
Wisdom has strengthened the wise more than ten princes of a city.
20 Because there is not a righteous man on earth that does good and does not sin.
But there is no just man on earth, who does good and does not sin.
21 Also to all the words that they speak do not give your heart, that you do not hear your servant reviling 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 many times also has your heart known that you yourself have also reviled others.
For your conscience knows that you, too, have repeatedly spoken evil of others.
23 All this I have tried by wisdom; I have said, “I am wise,” and it [is] far from me.
I have tested everything in wisdom. I have said: “I will be wise.” And wisdom withdrew farther from me,
24 Far off [is] that which has been, and deep, deep, who finds it?
so much more than it was before. Wisdom is very profound, so who shall reveal her?
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 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 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 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 See, this I have found, said the Preacher, one to one, to find out the reason
Behold, Ecclesiastes said, I have discovered these things, one after another, in order that I might discover the 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.
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 See, this alone I have found, that God made man upright, and they have sought out many inventions.
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?
