Ecclesiastes 6-7

New American Standard Bible

The Futility of Life

6 There is an ^(A)evil which I have seen under the sun, and it is widespread ^[a]among mankind: ²a person to whom God has ^(B)given riches, wealth, and honor, so that his soul ^(C)lacks nothing of all that he desires, yet God has not given him the opportunity to ^[b]enjoy these things, but a foreigner ^[c]enjoys them. This is futility and a severe affliction. ³If a man fathers a hundred children and lives many years, however many ^[d]they may be, but his soul is not satisfied with good things and he does not even have a proper ^(D)burial, then I say, “Better ^(E)the miscarriage than he, ⁴for a miscarriage comes in futility and goes into darkness; and its name is covered in darkness. ⁵It has not even seen the sun nor does it know it; yet ^[e]it is better off than that man. ⁶Even if the man lives a thousand years twice, but does not see good things—^(F)do not all go to one and the same place?”

⁷^(G)All a person’s labor is for his mouth, and yet ^[f]his appetite is not ^[g]satisfied. ⁸For ^(H)what advantage does the wise person have over the fool? What does the poor person have, knowing how to walk before the living? ⁹What the eyes ^(I)see is better than what the soul ^[h]desires. This too is ^(J)futility and striving after wind.

¹⁰Whatever ^(K)exists has already been named, and it is known what man is; for he ^(L)cannot dispute with the ^[i]one who is mightier than he is. ¹¹For there are many words which increase futility. What then is the advantage to a person? ¹²For who knows what is good for a person during his lifetime, during the few ^[j]years of his futile life? He will ^[k]spend them like a shadow. For who can tell a person ^(M)what will happen after him under the sun?

Wisdom and Foolishness Contrasted

7 A ^(N)good name is better than good ^[l]oil,
And the ^(O)day of one’s death is better than the day of one’s birth.
²It is better to go to a house of mourning
Than to go to a house of feasting,
Because ^[m]that is the ^(P)end of every person,
And the living ^[n]^(Q)takes it to ^[o]heart.
³^(R)Sorrow is better than laughter,
For ^(S)when a face is sad a heart may be happy.
⁴The ^[p]mind of the wise is in the house of mourning,
While the ^[q]mind of fools is in the house of pleasure.
⁵It is better to ^(T)listen to the rebuke of a wise person
Than for one to listen to the song of fools.
⁶For as the ^[r]crackling of ^(U)thorn bushes under a pot,
So is the ^(V)laughter of the fool;
And this too is futility.
⁷For ^(W)oppression makes a wise person look foolish,
And a ^(X)bribe ^[s]corrupts the heart.
⁸The ^(Y)end of a matter is better than its beginning;
^(Z)Patience of spirit is better than arrogance of spirit.
⁹Do not be ^[t]^(AA)eager in your spirit to be angry,
For anger resides in the ^[u]heart of fools.
¹⁰Do not say, “Why is it that the former days were better than these?”
For it is not from wisdom that you ask about this.
¹¹Wisdom along with an inheritance is good,
And an ^(AB)advantage to those who see the sun.
¹²For ^(AC)wisdom is ^[v]protection just as money is ^[w]protection,
But the advantage of knowledge is that ^(AD)wisdom keeps its possessors alive.
¹³Consider the ^(AE)work of God,
For who is ^(AF)able to straighten what He has bent?
¹⁴^(AG)On the day of prosperity be happy,
But ^(AH)on the day of adversity consider:
God has made the one as well as the other
So that a person will ^(AI)not discover anything that will come after him.

¹⁵I have seen everything during my ^[x]^(AJ)lifetime of futility; there is ^(AK)a righteous person who perishes in his righteousness, and there is ^(AL)a wicked person who prolongs his life in his wickedness. ¹⁶Do not be excessively ^(AM)righteous, and do not ^(AN)be overly wise. Why should you ruin yourself? ¹⁷Do not be excessively wicked, and do not be foolish. Why should you ^(AO)die ^[y]before your time? ¹⁸It is good that you grasp one thing while not ^[z]letting go of the other; for one who ^(AP)fears God comes out with ^[aa]both of them.

¹⁹^(AQ)Wisdom strengthens a wise person more than ten rulers who are in a city. ²⁰Indeed, ^(AR)there is not a righteous person on earth who always does good and does not ever sin. ²¹Also, do not ^[ab]take seriously all the words which are spoken, so that you do not hear your servant ^(AS)cursing you, ²²for ^[ac]you know that even you have cursed others many times as well.

²³I tested all this with wisdom, and I said, “I will be wise,” ^(AT)but wisdom was far from me. ²⁴What has been is remote and ^(AU)very ^[ad]mysterious. ^(AV)Who can discover it? ²⁵I ^[ae]^(AW)directed my ^[af]mind to know and to investigate, and to seek wisdom and an explanation, and to know the evil of foolishness and the foolishness of insanity. ²⁶And I discovered as more ^(AX)bitter than death the woman whose heart is ^(AY)snares and nets, whose hands are chains. ^(AZ)One who is pleasing to God will escape from her, but ^(BA)the sinner will be captured by her.

²⁷“Behold, I have discovered this,” says the Preacher, “by adding one thing to another to find an explanation, ²⁸which ^[ag]I am still seeking but have not found. I have found one man among a thousand, but I have not found a ^(BB)woman among all these. ²⁹Behold, I have found only this, that ^(BC)God made people upright, but they have sought out many schemes.”