Ecclesiastes 7
International Standard Version
Lessons for Life
7 A good name exceeds the value of fine perfume,
and the day of someone’s death exceeds the value of[a] the day of his birth.
2 It’s better to attend a funeral[b]
than to attend a banquet,[c]
for everyone dies eventually,
and the living will take this to heart.
3 Sorrow is better than laughter,
because the heart is made better through trouble.
4 For the wise person thinks carefully when in mourning,
but fools focus their thoughts on pleasure.
5 It is better to listen to a wise person’s rebuke
than to listen to the praise[d] of fools.
6 For as thorns burn to heat a pot,
so also is the laughter of the fool—
even this is pointless.
Avoiding the Evils of Life
7 Unjust gain makes the wise foolish,
and a bribe corrupts the heart.
8 The conclusion of something is better than its beginning,
and a patient attitude[e] is more valuable than a proud one.[f]
9 Never be in a hurry to become internally angry,
since anger settles down in the lap of fools.
10 Never ask “Why does the past[g] seem so much better than now?”[h]
because this question does not come from wisdom.
11 Wise use of possessions is good;
it brings benefit to the living.[i]
12 Indeed, wisdom gives protection,[j] just like money does,
but it’s better to know that wisdom gives life,
to those who have mastered[k] it.
The Works of God
13 Consider the work of God:
Who is able to straighten
what he has bent?
14 When times are good, be joyful;
when times are bad, consider this:
God made the one as well as the other,
so people won’t seek anything outside of his best.
15 I have seen it all[l] during my pointless life:
both a righteous person who dies
while he is righteous,
and a wicked person who lives to an old age,
while remaining wicked.[m]
Practical Wisdom
16 Do not be overly righteous,
nor be overly wise.
Why be self-destructive?
17 Do not excel at wickedness,
nor be a fool.
Why die before your time?
18 It is good for you to grab hold of this and not let go,
because whoever fears God will escape
all of these extremes.[n]
19 Wisdom given as strength to a wise person
is better than having ten powerful men in the city.
20 For there is not a single righteous man on earth
who practices good and does not sin.
21 Don’t listen to everything that is spoken—
you may hear your servant cursing you,
22 since you also know how often
you have cursed others.
23 I used my wisdom to test all of this.
I said, “I want to be wise,”
but it was beyond me.
24 Whatever it is,
it’s far off and most profound.
Who can attain it?
25 I committed myself to understand,
to learn, to search for wisdom and explanations,
and to understand both the evil that is foolishness
and the stupidity that is delusion.
26 I discovered for myself a bitterness
that surpasses that of death:
the woman whose heart is full of[o] snares and nets,
whose hands are chains of bondage.
Whoever pleases God will escape from her,
but the transgressor will be trapped by her.
27 “Look at this,” says the Teacher. “Linking one thing to another, I reached this conclusion:
28 Among the things I seek but have not found:
one man among a thousand I did find,
but I have not found one woman to be wise[p] among all these.
29 I have discovered only this:
God made human beings for righteousness,
but they seek many alternatives.”
Footnotes
- Ecclesiastes 7:1 Lit. death than
- Ecclesiastes 7:2 Lit. house of mourning
- Ecclesiastes 7:2 Lit. house of feasting
- Ecclesiastes 7:5 Lit. song
- Ecclesiastes 7:8 Lit. spirit
- Ecclesiastes 7:8 Lit. spirit
- Ecclesiastes 7:10 Lit. the former days
- Ecclesiastes 7:10 Lit. than these
- Ecclesiastes 7:11 Lit. to those who see the sun
- Ecclesiastes 7:12 Or shade
- Ecclesiastes 7:12 Or acquired
- Ecclesiastes 7:15 Lit. seen in pointlessness
- Ecclesiastes 7:15 Lit. lives long in his evil
- Ecclesiastes 7:18 The Heb. lacks extremes
- Ecclesiastes 7:26 The Heb. lacks full of
- Ecclesiastes 7:28 The Heb. lacks to be wise
Ecclesiastes 7
Lexham English Bible
People Generally Do Not Know What is Best for Them
7 A good name is better than precious ointment,
and the day of death is better than the day of one’s birth.
2 Better to go to the house of mourning
than to go to the house of feasting,
for death is the end of every person,
and the living should take it to his heart.
3 Sorrow is better than laughter,
for by sadness of countenance the heart is made good.
4 The heart of the wise is in the house of mourning,
but the heart of fools is in the house of mirth.
5 Better to listen to the rebuke of the wise
than for a man to listen to the song of fools.
6 Like the sound of thorns under a pot,
so also the laughter of fools.
This also is vanity!
Wisdom—Although Vulnerable—is Beneficial
7 Surely oppression makes a fool of the wise,
and a bribe corrupts the heart.
8 The end of a matter is better than its beginning;
better to be slow to anger than hot-headed.[a]
9 Do not be quick in your spirit to anger,
for anger lodges in the bosom of fools.
10 Do not say, “Why were the former days better than these?”
For it is not from wisdom that you ask this.
11 Wisdom is good with an inheritance;
it benefits the living.[b]
12 For wisdom offers protection like money offers protection.[c]
But knowledge has an advantage—wisdom restores life to its possessor.
Humans Must Accept God’s Will and Make the Best of It
13 Consider the work of God.
For who is able to make straight what he made crooked?
14 In the day of prosperity, rejoice!
But in the day of adversity, consider!
For God made one in place of another
so that mortals cannot find out what will happen in the future.[d]
The Law of Retribution Does Not Always Work—but It Does Sometimes
15 I have seen all these things in my vain life:
Sometimes a righteous man perishes in spite of his righteousness,
and sometimes a wicked man lives a long life in spite of his evil.
16 Do not be excessively[e] righteous,
and do not act excessively wise, lest you destroy yourself.
17 Do not act excessively wicked,
and do not be a fool, lest you die before your time.
18 It is good to take hold of the one and also must not let go of the other;
for whoever fears God will hold both of them secure.
Wisdom is Valuable, but No One is Completely Righteous
19 Wisdom gives more strength to the wise
than ten rulers who are in the city.
20 Surely there is no one righteous on the earth
who continually does good and never sins.
21 Do not pay attention to everything people say,
lest you hear your own servant curse you.
22 For your heart knows
that you also have cursed others many times.
Absolute Wisdom is Unattainable
23 All this I have tested with wisdom. I said, “I will be wise!” but it was beyond my grasp.[f] 24 Whatever is—it is far beyond comprehension.[g] Who can discover it?
25 I set my mind to try to seek wisdom and the plan, and to know that wickedness is foolishness and that folly is delusion. 26 I myself found that more bitter than death is the woman who is a trap, whose heart is a snare, and whose hands are bonds. The one who pleases God escapes from her, but the sinner is caught by her. 27 “Look! I found this,” said the Teacher,[h] “while trying to find how the plan fits together. 28 What my heart sought, I did not find. Although I found one righteous man among one thousand, I did not find one upright woman among all these. 29 Look! This alone I found: God made mankind upright, but they have devised many schemes.”
Footnotes
- Ecclesiastes 7:8 Literally “one who is long of spirit is better than one who is high of spirit”
- Ecclesiastes 7:11 Literally “to those who see the sun”
- Ecclesiastes 7:12 Literally “For in the shade of wisdom is the shade of money”
- Ecclesiastes 7:14 Literally “after him”
- Ecclesiastes 7:16 Or “abundantly”
- Ecclesiastes 7:23 Literally “it was far from me”
- Ecclesiastes 7:24 Literally “That which is—it is far and deep deep”
- Ecclesiastes 7:27 Hebrew “Qohelet”
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