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Ecclesiastes 7
New King James Version
Ecclesiastes 7
New King James Version
The Value of Practical Wisdom
7 A (A)good name is better than precious ointment,
And the day of death than the day of one’s (B)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 (C)heart.
3 [a]Sorrow is better than laughter,
(D)For by a sad countenance the heart is made [b]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 (E)It is better to [c]hear the rebuke of the wise
Than for a man to hear the song of fools.
6 (F)For like the [d]crackling of thorns under a pot,
So is the laughter of the fool.
This also is vanity.
7 Surely oppression destroys a wise man’s reason,
(G)And a bribe [e]debases the heart.
8 The end of a thing is better than its beginning;
(H)The patient in spirit is better than the proud in spirit.
9 (I)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 (J)to those who see the sun.
12 For wisdom is [f]a (K)defense as money is a defense,
But the [g]excellence of knowledge is that wisdom gives (L)life to those who have it.
13 Consider the work of God;
For (M)who can make straight what He has made crooked?
14 (N)In the day of prosperity be joyful,
But in the day of adversity consider:
Surely God has appointed the one [h]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:
(O)There is a just man who perishes in his righteousness,
And there is a wicked man who prolongs life in his wickedness.
16 (P)Do not be overly righteous,
(Q)Nor be overly wise:
Why should you destroy yourself?
17 Do not be overly wicked,
Nor be foolish:
(R)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 (S)fears God will [i]escape them all.
19 (T)Wisdom strengthens the wise
More than ten rulers of the city.
20 (U)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 [j]proved by wisdom.
(V)I said, “I will be wise”;
But it was far from me.
24 (W)As for that which is far off and (X)exceedingly deep,
Who can find it out?
25 (Y)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 (Z)And I find more bitter than death
The woman whose heart is snares and nets,
Whose hands are fetters.
[k]He who pleases God shall escape from her,
But the sinner shall be trapped by her.
27 “Here is what I have found,” says (AA)the Preacher,
“Adding one thing to the other to find out the reason,
28 Which my soul still seeks but I cannot find:
(AB)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:
(AC)That God made man upright,
But (AD)they have sought out many schemes.”
Footnotes
- Ecclesiastes 7:3 Vexation or Grief
- Ecclesiastes 7:3 well or pleasing
- Ecclesiastes 7:5 listen to
- Ecclesiastes 7:6 Lit. sound
- Ecclesiastes 7:7 destroys
- Ecclesiastes 7:12 A protective shade, lit. shadow
- Ecclesiastes 7:12 advantage or profit
- Ecclesiastes 7:14 alongside
- Ecclesiastes 7:18 Lit. come forth from all of them
- Ecclesiastes 7:23 tested
- Ecclesiastes 7:26 Lit. He who is good before God
Ecclesiastes 7
New International Version
Ecclesiastes 7
New International Version
Wisdom
7 A good name is better than fine perfume,(A)
and the day of death better than the day of birth.(B)
2 It is better to go to a house of mourning
than to go to a house of feasting,
for death(C) is the destiny(D) of everyone;
the living should take this to heart.
3 Frustration is better than laughter,(E)
because a sad face is good for the heart.
4 The heart of the wise is in the house of mourning,
but the heart of fools is in the house of pleasure.(F)
5 It is better to heed the rebuke(G) of a wise person
than to listen to the song of fools.
6 Like the crackling of thorns(H) under the pot,
so is the laughter(I) of fools.
This too is meaningless.
7 Extortion turns a wise person into a fool,
and a bribe(J) corrupts the heart.
8 The end of a matter is better than its beginning,
and patience(K) is better than pride.
9 Do not be quickly provoked(L) in your spirit,
for anger resides in the lap of fools.(M)
10 Do not say, “Why were the old days(N) better than these?”
For it is not wise to ask such questions.
11 Wisdom, like an inheritance, is a good thing(O)
and benefits those who see the sun.(P)
12 Wisdom is a shelter
as money is a shelter,
but the advantage of knowledge is this:
Wisdom preserves those who have it.
13 Consider what God has done:(Q)
Who can straighten
what he has made crooked?(R)
14 When times are good, be happy;
but when times are bad, consider this:
God has made the one
as well as the other.(S)
Therefore, no one can discover
anything about their future.
15 In this meaningless life(T) of mine I have seen both of these:
the righteous perishing in their righteousness,
and the wicked living long in their wickedness.(U)
16 Do not be overrighteous,
neither be overwise—
why destroy yourself?
17 Do not be overwicked,
and do not be a fool—
why die before your time?(V)
18 It is good to grasp the one
and not let go of the other.
Whoever fears God(W) will avoid all extremes.[a]
20 Indeed, there is no one on earth who is righteous,(Z)
no one who does what is right and never sins.(AA)
21 Do not pay attention to every word people say,
or you(AB) may hear your servant cursing you—
22 for you know in your heart
that many times you yourself have cursed others.
23 All this I tested by wisdom and I said,
“I am determined to be wise”(AC)—
but this was beyond me.
24 Whatever exists is far off and most profound—
who can discover it?(AD)
25 So I turned my mind to understand,
to investigate and to search out wisdom and the scheme of things(AE)
and to understand the stupidity of wickedness
and the madness of folly.(AF)
26 I find more bitter than death
the woman who is a snare,(AG)
whose heart is a trap
and whose hands are chains.
The man who pleases God will escape her,
but the sinner she will ensnare.(AH)
27 “Look,” says the Teacher,[b](AI) “this is what I have discovered:
“Adding one thing to another to discover the scheme of things—
28 while I was still searching
but not finding—
I found one upright man among a thousand,
but not one upright woman(AJ) among them all.
29 This only have I found:
God created mankind upright,
but they have gone in search of many schemes.”
Footnotes
- Ecclesiastes 7:18 Or will follow them both
- Ecclesiastes 7:27 Or the leader of the assembly
Psalm 135
New King James Version
Psalm 135
New King James Version
Praise to God in Creation and Redemption
135 Praise the Lord!
Praise the name of the Lord;
(A)Praise Him, O you servants of the Lord!
2 (B)You who stand in the house of the Lord,
In (C)the courts of the house of our God,
3 Praise the Lord, for (D)the Lord is good;
Sing praises to His name, (E)for it is pleasant.
4 For (F)the Lord has chosen Jacob for Himself,
Israel for His [a]special treasure.
5 For I know that (G)the Lord is great,
And our Lord is above all gods.
6 (H)Whatever the Lord pleases He does,
In heaven and in earth,
In the seas and in all deep places.
7 (I)He causes the [b]vapors to ascend from the ends of the earth;
(J)He makes lightning for the rain;
He brings the wind out of His (K)treasuries.
8 (L)He [c]destroyed the firstborn of Egypt,
[d]Both of man and beast.
9 (M)He sent signs and wonders into the midst of you, O Egypt,
(N)Upon Pharaoh and all his servants.
10 (O)He defeated many nations
And slew mighty kings—
11 Sihon king of the Amorites,
Og king of Bashan,
And (P)all the kingdoms of Canaan—
12 (Q)And gave their land as a [e]heritage,
A heritage to Israel His people.
13 (R)Your name, O Lord, endures forever,
Your fame, O Lord, throughout all generations.
14 (S)For the Lord will judge His people,
And He will have compassion on His servants.
15 (T)The idols of the nations are silver and gold,
The work of men’s hands.
16 They have mouths, but they do not speak;
Eyes they have, but they do not see;
17 They have ears, but they do not hear;
Nor is there any breath in their mouths.
18 Those who make them are like them;
So is everyone who trusts in them.
19 (U)Bless the Lord, O house of Israel!
Bless the Lord, O house of Aaron!
20 Bless the Lord, O house of Levi!
You who fear the Lord, bless the Lord!
21 Blessed be the Lord (V)out of Zion,
Who dwells in Jerusalem!
Praise the Lord!
Footnotes
- Psalm 135:4 precious possession
- Psalm 135:7 Water vapor
- Psalm 135:8 Lit. struck down
- Psalm 135:8 Lit. From man to beast
- Psalm 135:12 inheritance
Psalm 135
New International Version
Psalm 135
New International Version
Psalm 135(A)
1 Praise the Lord.[a]
Praise the name of the Lord;
praise him, you servants(B) of the Lord,
2 you who minister in the house(C) of the Lord,
in the courts(D) of the house of our God.
3 Praise the Lord, for the Lord is good;(E)
sing praise to his name,(F) for that is pleasant.(G)
4 For the Lord has chosen Jacob(H) to be his own,
Israel to be his treasured possession.(I)
5 I know that the Lord is great,(J)
that our Lord is greater than all gods.(K)
6 The Lord does whatever pleases him,(L)
in the heavens and on the earth,(M)
in the seas and all their depths.
7 He makes clouds rise from the ends of the earth;
he sends lightning with the rain(N)
and brings out the wind(O) from his storehouses.(P)
8 He struck down the firstborn(Q) of Egypt,
the firstborn of people and animals.
9 He sent his signs(R) and wonders into your midst, Egypt,
against Pharaoh and all his servants.(S)
10 He struck down many(T) nations
and killed mighty kings—
11 Sihon(U) king of the Amorites,(V)
Og king of Bashan,(W)
and all the kings of Canaan(X)—
12 and he gave their land as an inheritance,(Y)
an inheritance to his people Israel.
13 Your name, Lord, endures forever,(Z)
your renown,(AA) Lord, through all generations.
14 For the Lord will vindicate his people(AB)
and have compassion on his servants.(AC)
15 The idols of the nations(AD) are silver and gold,
made by human hands.(AE)
16 They have mouths, but cannot speak,(AF)
eyes, but cannot see.
17 They have ears, but cannot hear,
nor is there breath(AG) in their mouths.
18 Those who make them will be like them,
and so will all who trust in them.
19 All you Israelites, praise the Lord;(AH)
house of Aaron, praise the Lord;
20 house of Levi, praise the Lord;
you who fear him, praise the Lord.
21 Praise be to the Lord from Zion,(AI)
to him who dwells in Jerusalem.(AJ)
Praise the Lord.
Footnotes
- Psalm 135:1 Hebrew Hallelu Yah; also in verses 3 and 21
New King James Version (NKJV) 
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
New International Version (NIV) 
Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
NIV Reverse Interlinear Bible: English to Hebrew and English to Greek. Copyright © 2019 by Zondervan.