Ecclesiastes 7
New International Version - Ecclesiastes 7 << | >> 123456789101112 7:1 A good name is better than fine perfume, and the day of death better than the day of birth. 7:2 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. 7:3 Sorrow is better than laughter, because a sad face is good for the heart. 7:4 The heart of the wise is in the house of mourning, but the heart of fools is in the house of pleasure. 7:5 It is better to heed a wise man's rebuke than to listen to the song of fools. 7:6 Like the crackling of thorns under the pot, so is the laughter of fools. This too is meaningless. 7:7 Extortion turns a wise man into a fool, and a bribe corrupts the heart. 7:8 The end of a matter is better than its beginning, and patience is better than pride. 7:9 Do not be quickly provoked in your spirit, for anger resides in the lap of fools. 7:10 Do not say, 'Why were the old days better than these?' For it is not wise to ask such questions. 7:11 Wisdom, like an inheritance, is a good thing and benefits those who see the sun. 7:12 Wisdom is a shelter as money is a shelter, but the advantage of knowledge is this: that wisdom preserves the life of its possessor. 7:13 Consider what God has done: Who can straighten what he has made crooked? 7:14 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. 7:15 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. 7:16 Do not be overrighteous, neither be overwise- why destroy yourself? 7:17 Do not be overwicked, and do not be a fool- why die before your time? 7:18 It is good to grasp the one and not let go of the other. The man who fears God will avoid all extremes. 7:19 Wisdom makes one wise man more powerful than ten rulers in a city. 7:20 There is not a righteous man on earth who does what is right and never sins. 7:21 Do not pay attention to every word people say, or you may hear your servant cursing you- 7:22 for you know in your heart that many times you yourself have cursed others. 7:23 All this I tested by wisdom and I said, 'I am determined to be wise'- but this was beyond me. 7:24 Whatever wisdom may be, it is far off and most profound- who can discover it? 7:25 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. 7:26 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. 7:27 'Look,' says the Teacher, 'this is what I have discovered: 'Adding one thing to another to discover the scheme of things- 7:28 while I was still searching but not finding- I found one upright man among a thousand, but not one upright woman among them all. 7:29 This only have I found: God made mankind upright, but men have gone in search of many schemes.'