Ecclesiastes 7:1-14

English Standard Version

7 ^(A)A good name is better than precious ointment,
    and ^(B)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 ^(C)lay it to heart.
³ Sorrow is better than laughter,
    ^(D)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 ^(E)better for a man to hear the rebuke of the wise
    than to hear the song of fools.
^6 (F)For as the crackling of ^(G)thorns under a pot,
    so is the laughter of the fools;
    this also is vanity.^[a]
7 Surely ^(H)oppression drives the wise into madness,
    and ^(I)a bribe corrupts the heart.
⁸ Better is the end of a thing than its beginning,
    and ^(J)the patient in spirit is better than the proud in spirit.
^9 (K)Be not quick in your spirit to become angry,
    ^(L)for anger lodges in the heart^[b] 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 ^(M)see the sun.
¹² For the protection of wisdom is like ^(N)the protection of money,
    and the advantage of knowledge is that ^(O)wisdom preserves the life of him who has it.
¹³ Consider ^(P)the work of God:
    ^(Q)who can make straight what he has made crooked?