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)
²It 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.
³Frustration is better than laughter,^(E)
    because a sad face is good for the heart.
⁴The heart of the wise is in the house of mourning,
    but the heart of fools is in the house of pleasure.^(F)
⁵It is better to heed the rebuke^(G) of a wise person
    than to listen to the song of fools.
⁶Like the crackling of thorns^(H) under the pot,
    so is the laughter^(I) of fools.
    This too is meaningless.

⁷Extortion turns a wise person into a fool,
and a bribe^(J) corrupts the heart.

⁸The end of a matter is better than its beginning,
and patience^(K) is better than pride.
⁹Do not be quickly provoked^(L) in your spirit,
for anger resides in the lap of fools.^(M)

¹⁰Do not say, “Why were the old days^(N) better than these?”
For it is not wise to ask such questions.

¹¹Wisdom, like an inheritance, is a good thing^(O)
    and benefits those who see the sun.^(P)
¹²Wisdom is a shelter
    as money is a shelter,
but the advantage of knowledge is this:
    Wisdom preserves those who have it.

¹³Consider what God has done:^(Q)

Who can straighten
    what he has made crooked?^(R)
¹⁴When 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.

¹⁵In 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)
¹⁶Do not be overrighteous,
    neither be overwise—
    why destroy yourself?
¹⁷Do not be overwicked,
    and do not be a fool—
    why die before your time?^(V)
¹⁸It is good to grasp the one
    and not let go of the other.
    Whoever fears God^(W) will avoid all extremes.^[a]

¹⁹Wisdom^(X) makes one wise person more powerful^(Y)
than ten rulers in a city.

²⁰Indeed, there is no one on earth who is righteous,^(Z)
no one who does what is right and never sins.^(AA)

²¹Do not pay attention to every word people say,
or you^(AB) may hear your servant cursing you—
²²for you know in your heart
that many times you yourself have cursed others.

²³All this I tested by wisdom and I said,

“I am determined to be wise”^(AC)—
    but this was beyond me.
²⁴Whatever exists is far off and most profound—
    who can discover it?^(AD)
²⁵So 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)

²⁶I 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.
²⁹This only have I found:
    God created mankind upright,
    but they have gone in search of many schemes.”