Ecclesiastes 6:10-7:14

English Standard Version

7 ^(F)A good name is better than precious ointment,
    and ^(G)the day of death than the day of birth.
² It is better to go to the house of mourning
    than to go to the house of feasting,
for this is the end of all mankind,
    and the living will ^(H)lay it to heart.
³ Sorrow is better than laughter,
    ^(I)for by sadness of face the heart is made glad.
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 ^(J)better for a man to hear the rebuke of the wise
    than to hear the song of fools.
^6 (K)For as the crackling of ^(L)thorns under a pot,
    so is the laughter of the fools;
    this also is vanity.^[b]
7 Surely ^(M)oppression drives the wise into madness,
    and ^(N)a bribe corrupts the heart.
⁸ Better is the end of a thing than its beginning,
    and ^(O)the patient in spirit is better than the proud in spirit.
^9 (P)Be not quick in your spirit to become angry,
    ^(Q)for anger lodges in the heart^[c] of fools.
¹⁰ Say not, “Why were the former days better than these?”
    For it is not from wisdom that you ask this.
¹¹ Wisdom is good with an inheritance,
    an advantage to those who ^(R)see the sun.
¹² For the protection of wisdom is like ^(S)the protection of money,
    and the advantage of knowledge is that ^(T)wisdom preserves the life of him who has it.
¹³ Consider ^(U)the work of God:
    ^(V)who can make straight what he has made crooked?