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 American Standard Bible
Wisdom and Foolishness Contrasted
7 A (A)good name is better than good [a]oil,
And the (B)day of one’s death is better than the day of one’s birth.
2 It is better to go to a house of mourning
Than to go to a house of feasting,
Because [b]that is the (C)end of every person,
And the living [c](D)takes it to [d]heart.
3 (E)Sorrow is better than laughter,
For (F)when a face is sad a heart may be happy.
4 The [e]mind of the wise is in the house of mourning,
While the [f]mind of fools is in the house of pleasure.
5 It is better to (G)listen to the rebuke of a wise person
Than for one to listen to the song of fools.
6 For as the [g]crackling of (H)thorn bushes under a pot,
So is the (I)laughter of the fool;
And this too is futility.
7 For (J)oppression makes a wise person look foolish,
And a (K)bribe [h]corrupts the heart.
8 The (L)end of a matter is better than its beginning;
(M)Patience of spirit is better than arrogance of spirit.
9 Do not be [i](N)eager in your spirit to be angry,
For anger resides in the [j]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 (O)advantage to those who see the sun.
12 For (P)wisdom is [k]protection just as money is [l]protection,
But the advantage of knowledge is that (Q)wisdom keeps its possessors alive.
13 Consider the (R)work of God,
For who is (S)able to straighten what He has bent?
14 (T)On the day of prosperity be happy,
But (U)on the day of adversity consider:
God has made the one as well as the other
So that a person will (V)not discover anything that will come after him.
15 I have seen everything during my [m](W)lifetime of futility; there is (X)a righteous person who perishes in his righteousness, and there is (Y)a wicked person who prolongs his life in his wickedness. 16 Do not be excessively (Z)righteous, and do not (AA)be overly wise. Why should you ruin yourself? 17 Do not be excessively wicked, and do not be foolish. Why should you (AB)die [n]before your time? 18 It is good that you grasp one thing while not [o]letting go of the other; for one who (AC)fears God comes out with [p]both of them.
19 (AD)Wisdom strengthens a wise person more than ten rulers who are in a city. 20 Indeed, (AE)there is not a righteous person on earth who always does good and does not ever sin. 21 Also, do not [q]take seriously all the words which are spoken, so that you do not hear your servant (AF)cursing you, 22 for [r]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,” (AG)but wisdom was far from me. 24 What has been is remote and (AH)very [s]mysterious. (AI)Who can discover it? 25 I [t](AJ)directed my [u]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 (AK)bitter than death the woman whose heart is (AL)snares and nets, whose hands are chains. (AM)One who is pleasing to God will escape from her, but (AN)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, 28 which [v]I am still seeking but have not found. I have found one man among a thousand, but I have not found a (AO)woman among all these. 29 Behold, I have found only this, that (AP)God made people upright, but they have sought out many schemes.”
Footnotes
- Ecclesiastes 7:1 I.e., olive oil
- Ecclesiastes 7:2 I.e., death
- Ecclesiastes 7:2 Lit gives
- Ecclesiastes 7:2 Lit his heart
- Ecclesiastes 7:4 Lit heart
- Ecclesiastes 7:4 Lit heart
- Ecclesiastes 7:6 Lit voice
- 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 7:15 Lit days
- Ecclesiastes 7:17 Lit when not your time
- Ecclesiastes 7:18 Lit resting your hand
- Ecclesiastes 7:18 Lit all of them
- 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 7:28 Lit my soul still seeks
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved.
