Ecclesiastes 7:7-12
New American Standard Bible
7 For (A)oppression makes a wise person look foolish,
And a (B)bribe [a]corrupts the heart.
8 The (C)end of a matter is better than its beginning;
(D)Patience of spirit is better than arrogance of spirit.
9 Do not be [b](E)eager in your spirit to be angry,
For anger resides in the [c]heart of fools.
10 Do not say, “Why is it that the former days were better than these?”
For it is not from wisdom that you ask about this.
11 Wisdom along with an inheritance is good,
And an (F)advantage to those who see the sun.
12 For (G)wisdom is [d]protection just as money is [e]protection,
But the advantage of knowledge is that (H)wisdom keeps its possessors alive.
Footnotes
- Ecclesiastes 7:7 Lit destroys
- Ecclesiastes 7:9 Lit hasty
- Ecclesiastes 7:9 Lit chest
- Ecclesiastes 7:12 Lit in a shadow
- Ecclesiastes 7:12 Lit in a shadow
Ecclesiastes 7:7-12
New Living Translation
7 Extortion turns wise people into fools,
and bribes corrupt the heart.
8 Finishing is better than starting.
Patience is better than pride.
9 Control your temper,
for anger labels you a fool.
10 Don’t long for “the good old days.”
This is not wise.
11 Wisdom is even better when you have money.
Both are a benefit as you go through life.
12 Wisdom and money can get you almost anything,
but only wisdom can save your life.
Ecclesiastes 7:19-26
New American Standard Bible
19 (A)Wisdom strengthens a wise person more than ten rulers who are in a city. 20 Indeed, (B)there is not a righteous person on earth who always does good and does not ever sin. 21 Also, do not [a]take seriously all the words which are spoken, so that you do not hear your servant (C)cursing you, 22 for [b]you know that even you have cursed others many times as well.
23 I tested all this with wisdom, and I said, “I will be wise,” (D)but wisdom was far from me. 24 What has been is remote and (E)very [c]mysterious. (F)Who can discover it? 25 I [d](G)directed my [e]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. 26 And I discovered as more (H)bitter than death the woman whose heart is (I)snares and nets, whose hands are chains. (J)One who is pleasing to God will escape from her, but (K)the sinner will be captured by her.
Read full chapterFootnotes
- Ecclesiastes 7:21 Lit give your heart to
- Ecclesiastes 7:22 Lit your heart knows
- Ecclesiastes 7:24 Lit deep
- Ecclesiastes 7:25 Lit turned about
- Ecclesiastes 7:25 Lit heart
Ecclesiastes 7:19-26
New Living Translation
19 One wise person is stronger than ten leading citizens of a town!
20 Not a single person on earth is always good and never sins.
21 Don’t eavesdrop on others—you may hear your servant curse you. 22 For you know how often you yourself have cursed others.
23 I have always tried my best to let wisdom guide my thoughts and actions. I said to myself, “I am determined to be wise.” But it didn’t work. 24 Wisdom is always distant and difficult to find. 25 I searched everywhere, determined to find wisdom and to understand the reason for things. I was determined to prove to myself that wickedness is stupid and that foolishness is madness.
26 I discovered that a seductive woman[a] is a trap more bitter than death. Her passion is a snare, and her soft hands are chains. Those who are pleasing to God will escape her, but sinners will be caught in her snare.
Read full chapterFootnotes
- 7:26 Hebrew a woman.
Ecclesiastes 10:1-11:6
New American Standard Bible
A Little Foolishness
10 Dead flies turn a (A)perfumer’s oil rancid, so a little foolishness is more [a]potent than wisdom and honor. 2 A wise person’s heart directs him toward the right, but the foolish (B)person’s heart directs him toward the left. 3 Even when the fool walks along the road, his [b]sense is lacking, and he [c](C)demonstrates to everyone that he is a fool. 4 If the ruler’s [d]temper rises against you, (D)do not abandon your place, because (E)composure puts great offenses to rest.
5 There is an evil I have seen under the sun, like a mistake that proceeds from the ruler: 6 (F)foolishness is set in many exalted places while the rich sit in humble places. 7 I have seen (G)slaves riding (H)on horses and princes walking like slaves on the land.
8 (I)One who digs a pit may fall into it, and a (J)serpent may bite one who breaks through a wall. 9 One who quarries stones may be hurt by them, and one who splits logs may be endangered by them. 10 If the [e]axe is dull and he does not sharpen its [f]edge, then he must exert more strength. Wisdom has the advantage of bringing success. 11 If the serpent bites [g](K)before being charmed, there is no benefit for the charmer. 12 (L)Words from the mouth of a wise person are gracious, while the lips of a (M)fool consume him; 13 the beginning of [h]his talking is foolishness, and the end of [i]it is evil (N)insanity. 14 Yet the (O)fool multiplies words. No person knows what will happen, and who can tell him (P)what will come after him? 15 The labor of [j]a fool makes him so weary that he does not even know how to go to a city. 16 Woe to you, land whose (Q)king is a boy, and whose princes [k]feast in the morning. 17 Blessed are you, land whose king is of nobility, and whose princes eat at the appropriate time—for strength and not for (R)drunkenness. 18 Through (S)extreme laziness the rafters sag, and through idleness the house leaks. 19 People prepare a meal for enjoyment, (T)wine makes life joyful, and (U)money [l]is the answer to everything. 20 Furthermore, (V)in your bedroom do not (W)curse a king, and in your sleeping rooms do not curse a rich person; for a bird of the sky will bring the sound, and the winged one will make your word known.
Cast Your Bread on the Waters
11 (X)Cast your bread on the surface of the waters, for you (Y)will find it [m]after many days. 2 (Z)Divide your portion to seven, or even to eight, for you do not know what (AA)misfortune may occur on the earth. 3 If the clouds are full, they pour out rain on the earth; and whether a tree falls toward the south or toward the north, wherever the tree falls, there it [n]lies. 4 One who watches the wind will not sow and one who looks at the clouds will not harvest. 5 Just as you do not (AB)know the path of the [o]wind, and (AC)how bones are formed in the womb of the [p]pregnant woman, so you do not (AD)know the activity of God who makes everything.
6 Sow your seed (AE)in the morning and do not [q]be idle in the evening, for you do not know whether [r]one or the other will succeed, or whether both of them alike will be good.
Footnotes
- Ecclesiastes 10:1 Lit costly
- Ecclesiastes 10:3 Lit heart
- Ecclesiastes 10:3 Lit says
- Ecclesiastes 10:4 Lit spirit
- Ecclesiastes 10:10 Lit iron
- Ecclesiastes 10:10 Lit faces
- Ecclesiastes 10:11 Lit with no incantation
- Ecclesiastes 10:13 Lit the words of his mouth
- Ecclesiastes 10:13 Lit his mouth
- Ecclesiastes 10:15 Lit fools make
- Ecclesiastes 10:16 Lit eat
- Ecclesiastes 10:19 Lit answers all
- Ecclesiastes 11:1 Lit in, within
- Ecclesiastes 11:3 Lit is
- Ecclesiastes 11:5 Or with many mss spirit into the bones in the womb
- Ecclesiastes 11:5 Lit full
- Ecclesiastes 11:6 Lit let down your hand
- Ecclesiastes 11:6 Lit this or that
Ecclesiastes 10:1-11:6
New Living Translation
10 As dead flies cause even a bottle of perfume to stink,
so a little foolishness spoils great wisdom and honor.
2 A wise person chooses the right road;
a fool takes the wrong one.
3 You can identify fools
just by the way they walk down the street!
4 If your boss is angry at you, don’t quit!
A quiet spirit can overcome even great mistakes.
The Ironies of Life
5 There is another evil I have seen under the sun. Kings and rulers make a grave mistake 6 when they give great authority to foolish people and low positions to people of proven worth. 7 I have even seen servants riding horseback like princes—and princes walking like servants!
8 When you dig a well,
you might fall in.
When you demolish an old wall,
you could be bitten by a snake.
9 When you work in a quarry,
stones might fall and crush you.
When you chop wood,
there is danger with each stroke of your ax.
10 Using a dull ax requires great strength,
so sharpen the blade.
That’s the value of wisdom;
it helps you succeed.
11 If a snake bites before you charm it,
what’s the use of being a snake charmer?
12 Wise words bring approval,
but fools are destroyed by their own words.
13 Fools base their thoughts on foolish assumptions,
so their conclusions will be wicked madness;
14 they chatter on and on.
No one really knows what is going to happen;
no one can predict the future.
15 Fools are so exhausted by a little work
that they can’t even find their way home.
16 What sorrow for the land ruled by a servant,[a]
the land whose leaders feast in the morning.
17 Happy is the land whose king is a noble leader
and whose leaders feast at the proper time
to gain strength for their work, not to get drunk.
18 Laziness leads to a sagging roof;
idleness leads to a leaky house.
19 A party gives laughter,
wine gives happiness,
and money gives everything!
20 Never make light of the king, even in your thoughts.
And don’t make fun of the powerful, even in your own bedroom.
For a little bird might deliver your message
and tell them what you said.
The Uncertainties of Life
11 Send your grain across the seas,
and in time, profits will flow back to you.[b]
2 But divide your investments among many places,[c]
for you do not know what risks might lie ahead.
3 When clouds are heavy, the rains come down.
Whether a tree falls north or south, it stays where it falls.
4 Farmers who wait for perfect weather never plant.
If they watch every cloud, they never harvest.
5 Just as you cannot understand the path of the wind or the mystery of a tiny baby growing in its mother’s womb,[d] so you cannot understand the activity of God, who does all things.
6 Plant your seed in the morning and keep busy all afternoon, for you don’t know if profit will come from one activity or another—or maybe both.
Footnotes
- 10:16 Or a child.
- 11:1 Or Give generously, / for your gifts will return to you later. Hebrew reads Throw your bread on the waters, / for after many days you will find it again.
- 11:2 Hebrew among seven or even eight.
- 11:5 Some manuscripts read Just as you cannot understand how breath comes to a tiny baby in its mother’s womb.
New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved.
Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
