Ecclesiastes 7:15-29

New King James Version

^(A)There is a just man who perishes in his righteousness,
And there is a wicked man who prolongs life in his wickedness.

^16 (B)Do not be overly righteous,
^(C)Nor be overly wise:
Why should you destroy yourself?
¹⁷ Do not be overly wicked,
Nor be foolish:
^(D)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 ^(E)fears God will ^[a]escape them all.

^19 (F)Wisdom strengthens the wise
More than ten rulers of the city.

^20 (G)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 ^[b]proved by wisdom.
^(H)I said, “I will be wise”;
But it was far from me.
^24 (I)As for that which is far off and ^(J)exceedingly deep,
Who can find it out?
^25 (K)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 (L)And I find more bitter than death
The woman whose heart is snares and nets,
Whose hands are fetters.
^[c]He who pleases God shall escape from her,
But the sinner shall be trapped by her.

²⁷ “Here is what I have found,” says ^(M)the Preacher,
“Adding one thing to the other to find out the reason,
²⁸ Which my soul still seeks but I cannot find:
^(N)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:
^(O)That God made man upright,
But ^(P)they have sought out many schemes.”