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Ecclesiastes 7:8-13
Common English Bible
Ecclesiastes 7:8-13
Common English Bible
8 The end of something is better than its beginning.
Patience is better than arrogance.
9 Don’t be too quick to get angry
because anger lives in the fool’s heart.
10 Don’t ask, “How is it that the former days were better than these?”
because it isn’t wise to ask this.
11 Wisdom is as good as[a] an inheritance—
an advantage for those who see the sun.
12 Wisdom’s protection is like the protection of money;
the advantage of knowledge is that wisdom preserves the lives of its possessors.
Good times and bad
13 Consider God’s work! Who can straighten what God has made crooked?
Read full chapterFootnotes
- Ecclesiastes 7:11 Or Wisdom is good with
Ecclesiastes 7:8-13
New International Version
Ecclesiastes 7:8-13
New International Version
8 The end of a matter is better than its beginning,
and patience(A) is better than pride.
9 Do not be quickly provoked(B) in your spirit,
for anger resides in the lap of fools.(C)
10 Do not say, “Why were the old days(D) better than these?”
For it is not wise to ask such questions.
11 Wisdom, like an inheritance, is a good thing(E)
and benefits those who see the sun.(F)
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:(G)
Who can straighten
what he has made crooked?(H)
Common English Bible (CEB)
Copyright © 2011 by Common English Bible
New International Version (NIV) 
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NIV Reverse Interlinear Bible: English to Hebrew and English to Greek. Copyright © 2019 by Zondervan.