Ecclesiastes 7

The Value of Practical Wisdom

1 A good name is better than precious ointment, A good name is better than precious ointment, And the day of death than the day of ones birth;2 Better to go to the house of mourning Than to go to the house of feasting, For that is the end of all men; And the living will take it to heart.3 Sorrow is better than laughter, For by a sad countenance the heart is made better.4 The heart of the wise is in the house of mourning, But the heart of fools is in the house of mirth.5  It is better to hear the rebuke of the wise Than for a man to hear the song of fools.6 For like the crackling of thorns under a pot, So is the laughter of the fool. This also is vanity.7 Surely oppression destroys a wise mans reason, And a bribe debases the heart.8 The end of a thing is better than its beginning; The patient in spirit is better than the proud in spirit.9 Do not hasten in your spirit to be angry, For anger rests in the bosom of fools.10 Do not say, Why were the former days better than these? For you do not inquire wisely concerning this.11 Wisdom is good with an inheritance, And profitable to those who see the sun.12 For wisdom is a defense as money is a defense, But the excellence of knowledge is that wisdom gives life to those who have it.13 Consider the work of God; For who can make straight what He has made crooked?14 In the day of prosperity be joyful, But in the day of adversity consider: Surely God has appointed the one as well as the other, So that man can find out nothing that will come after him.15 I have seen everything in my days of vanity: There is a just man who perishes in his righteousness, And there is a wicked man who prolongs life in his wickedness.16 Do not be overly righteous, Nor be overly wise: Why should you destroy yourself?17 Do not be overly wicked, Nor be foolish: Why should you die before your time?18  It is good that you grasp this, And also not remove your hand from the other; For he who fears God will escape them all.19 Wisdom strengthens the wise More than ten rulers of the city.20 For there is not a just man on earth who does good And does not sin.21 Also do not take to heart everything people say, Lest you hear your servant cursing you.22 For many times, also, your own heart has known That even you have cursed others.23 All this I have proved by wisdom. I said, I will be wise; But it was far from me.24 As for that which is far off and exceedingly deep, Who can find it out?25 I applied my heart to know, To search and seek out wisdom and the reason of things, To know the wickedness of folly, Even of foolishness and madness.26 And I find more bitter than death The woman whose heart is snares and nets, Whose hands are fetters. He who pleases God shall escape from her, But the sinner shall be trapped by her.27 Here is what I have found, says the Preacher, Adding one thing to the other to find out the reason,28 Which my soul still seeks but I cannot find: One man among a thousand I have found, But a woman among all these I have not found.29 Truly, this only I have found: That God made man upright, But they have sought out many schemes.

ECCLESIASTES 7

The Best in Life

1  t A good reputation
at the time of death
is better than loving care
at the time of birth.t

2 It's better to go to a funeral
than to attend a feast;
funerals remind us
that we all must die.

3 Choose sorrow over laughter
because a sad face
may hide a happy heart.

4 A sensible person mourns,
but fools always laugh.

5 Correction from someone wise
is better by far
than praise from fools.

6 Foolish laughter is stupid.
It sounds like thorns
crackling in a fire.

7 Corruptiont makes fools
of sensible people,
and bribes can ruin you.

8 Something completed is better
than something just begun;
patience is better
than too much pride.

9  t Only fools get angry quickly
and hold a grudge.

10 It isn't wise to ask,
“Why is everything worse
than it used to be?”

11 Having wisdom is better
than an inheritance.

12 Wisdom will protect you
just like money;
knowledge with good sense
will lead you to life.

13 Think of what God has done!
If God makes something crooked,
can you make it straight?

14 When times are good,
you should be cheerful;
when times are bad,
think about what it means.
God makes them both
to keep us from knowing
what will happen next.

Some of Life's Questions

18 Keep to the middle of the road. You can do this if you truly respect God.

19 Wisdom will make you stronger than the ten most powerful leaders in your city.

20 No one in this world always does right.
21 Don't listen to everything that everyone says, or you might hear your servant cursing you.

22 Haven't you cursed many others?
23 I told myself that I would be smart and try to understand all this, but it was too much for me. 24 The truth is beyond us. It's far too deep.

25 So I decided to learn everything I could and become wise enough to discover what life is all about. At the same time, I wanted to understand why it's stupid and senseless to be an evil fool.
26 Here is what I discovered: A bad woman is worse than death. She is a trap, reaching out with body and soul to catch you. But if you obey God, you can escape. If you don't obey, you are done for. 27 With all my wisdom I have tried to find out how everything fits together, 28 but so far I have not been able to. I do know there is one good man in a thousand, but never have I found a good woman. 29 I did learn one thing: We were completely honest when God created us, but now we have twisted minds.