Ecclesiastes 7

Chapter 7

Wisdom for Life

1 A good reputation is more valuable than costly perfume.
And the day you die is better than the day you are born.2 Better to spend your time at funerals than at parties.
After all, everyone dies—
so the living should take this to heart.3 Sorrow is better than laughter,
for sadness has a refining influence on us.4 A wise person thinks a lot about death,
while a fool thinks only about having a good time.5 Better to be criticized by a wise person
than to be praised by a fool.6 A fool’s laughter is quickly gone,
like thorns crackling in a fire.
This also is meaningless.7 Extortion turns wise people into fools,
and bribes corrupt the heart.8 Finishing is better than starting.
Patience is better than pride.9 Control your temper,
for anger labels you a fool.10 Don’t long for “the good old days.”
This is not wise.11 Wisdom is even better when you have money.
Both are a benefit as you go through life.12 Wisdom and money can get you almost anything,
but only wisdom can save your life.13 Accept the way God does things,
for who can straighten what he has made crooked?14 Enjoy prosperity while you can,
but when hard times strike, realize that both come from God.
Remember that nothing is certain in this life.

The Limits of Human Wisdom

15 I have seen everything in this meaningless life, including the death of good young people and the long life of wicked people.16 So don’t be too good or too wise! Why destroy yourself?17 On the other hand, don’t be too wicked either. Don’t be a fool! Why die before your time?

18 Pay attention to these instructions, for anyone who fears God will avoid both extremes.t

19 One wise person is stronger than ten leading citizens of a town!

20 Not a single person on earth is always good and never sins.
21 Don’t eavesdrop on others—you may hear your servant curse you.

22 For you know how often you yourself have cursed others.
23 I have always tried my best to let wisdom guide my thoughts and actions. I said to myself, “I am determined to be wise.” But it didn’t work.24 Wisdom is always distant and difficult to find.

25 I searched everywhere, determined to find wisdom and to understand the reason for things. I was determined to prove to myself that wickedness is stupid and that foolishness is madness.

26 I discovered that a seductive womant is a trap more bitter than death. Her passion is a snare, and her soft hands are chains. Those who are pleasing to God will escape her, but sinners will be caught in her snare.
27 “This is my conclusion,” says the Teacher. “I discovered this after looking at the matter from every possible angle.28 Though I have searched repeatedly, I have not found what I was looking for. Only one out of a thousand men is virtuous, but not one woman!

29 But I did find this: God created people to be virtuous, but they have each turned to follow their own downward path.”

Ecclesiastes 7

Wisdom

1 A good name is better than fine perfume,
and the day of death better than the day of birth.

2 It is better to go to a house of mourning
than to go to a house of feasting,
for death is the destiny of every man;
the living should take this to heart.

3 Sorrow is better than laughter,
because a sad face is good for the heart.

4 The heart of the wise is in the house of mourning,
but the heart of fools is in the house of pleasure.

5 It is better to heed a wise man's rebuke
than to listen to the song of fools.

6 Like the crackling of thorns under the pot,
so is the laughter of fools.
This too is meaningless.

7 Extortion turns a wise man into a fool,
and a bribe corrupts the heart.

8 The end of a matter is better than its beginning,
and patience is better than pride.

9 Do not be quickly provoked in your spirit,
for anger resides in the lap of fools.

10 Do not say, “Why were the old days better than these?”
For it is not wise to ask such questions.

11 Wisdom, like an inheritance, is a good thing
and benefits those who see the sun.

12 Wisdom is a shelter
as money is a shelter,
but the advantage of knowledge is this:
that wisdom preserves the life of its possessor.

13 Consider what God has done:
Who can straighten
what he has made crooked?

14 When times are good, be happy;
but when times are bad, consider:
God has made the one
as well as the other.
Therefore, a man cannot discover
anything about his future.

15 In this meaningless life of mine 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 overrighteous,
neither be overwise—
why destroy yourself?

17 Do not be overwicked,
and do not be a fool—
why die before your time?

18 It is good to grasp the one
and not let go of the other.
The man who fears God will avoid all extremes .

19 Wisdom makes one wise man more powerful
than ten rulers in a city.

20 There is not a righteous man on earth
who does what is right and never sins.

21 Do not pay attention to every word people say,
or you may hear your servant cursing you—

22 for you know in your heart
that many times you yourself have cursed others.

23 All this I tested by wisdom and I said,
“I am determined to be wise”—
but this was beyond me.

24 Whatever wisdom may be,
it is far off and most profound—
who can discover it?

25 So I turned my mind to understand,
to investigate and to search out wisdom and the scheme of things
and to understand the stupidity of wickedness
and the madness of folly.

26 I find more bitter than death
the woman who is a snare,
whose heart is a trap
and whose hands are chains.
The man who pleases God will escape her,
but the sinner she will ensnare.

27 “Look,” says the Teacher, “this is what I have discovered:
“Adding one thing to another to discover the scheme of things—

28 while I was still searching
but not finding—
I found one upright man among a thousand,
but not one upright woman among them all.

29 This only have I found:
God made mankind upright,
but men have gone in search of many schemes.”