Ecclesiastes 7
Legacy Standard Bible
Wisdom and Folly Contrasted
7 Better is a (A)good name than good oil,
And better is the (B)day of one’s death than the day of one’s birth.
2 Better to go to a house of mourning
Than to go to a house of feasting
Because [a]that is the (C)end of all mankind,
And the living (D)puts this in his heart.
3 (E)Better is vexation than laughter,
For (F)when a face is sad a heart may be merry.
4 The heart of the wise is in the house of mourning,
While the heart of fools is in the house of gladness.
5 Better to (G)listen to the rebuke of a wise man
Than for one to listen to the song of fools.
6 For as the crackling sound of (H)thorn bushes under a pot,
So is the (I)laughter of the fool;
And this too is vanity.
7 For (J)oppression gives a wise man over to madness,
And a (K)bribe [b]destroys the heart.
8 Better is the (L)end of a matter than its beginning;
(M)Better is patience of spirit than haughtiness of spirit.
9 Do not be [c](N)eager in your spirit to be vexed,
For vexation rests in the bosom 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 a (Q)shadow of protection as money is a shadow of protection,
And the advantage of knowledge is that (R)wisdom preserves the lives of its masters.
13 See the (S)work of God,
For who is (T)able to straighten what He has bent?
14 (U)In the day when there is good be of good cheer,
But (V)in the day when there is evil see—
God has made the one as well as the other
So that man will (W)not find out anything that will be after him.
15 I have seen everything during my (X)days of vanity; there is (Y)a righteous man who perishes in his righteousness, and there is (Z)a wicked man who prolongs his life in his evildoing. 16 Do not be excessively (AA)righteous, and do not (AB)be overly wise. Why should you make yourself desolate? 17 Do not be excessively wicked, and do not be a simpleminded fool. Why should you (AC)die before your time? 18 It is good that you seize one thing and also not [d]let go of the other; for the one who (AD)fears God comes forth with [e]both of them.
19 (AE)Wisdom strengthens a wise man more than ten men with power who are in a city. 20 Indeed, (AF)there is not a righteous man on earth who continually does good and who never sins. 21 Also, do not give your heart to all words which are spoken, so that you will not hear your slave (AG)cursing you. 22 For your heart also knows that you likewise have many times cursed others.
23 I tested all this with wisdom, and I said, “I will be wise,” (AH)but it was far from me. 24 What has been is far away and (AI)exceedingly deep. (AJ)Who can find it? 25 I (AK)turned my heart to know, to explore, and to seek wisdom and an explanation, and to know the wickedness of foolishness and the simpleminded folly of madness. 26 And I found more (AL)bitter than death the woman whose heart is (AM)snares and nets, whose hands are chains. (AN)One who is good before God will escape from her, but (AO)the sinner will be captured by her.
27 “See, I have found this,” says the Preacher, “adding one thing to another to find an explanation, 28 which my soul still seeks but has not found. I have found one man out of a thousand, but I have not found a (AP)woman among all these. 29 See, I have found only this, that (AQ)God made men upright, but they have sought out many devices.”
Footnotes
- Ecclesiastes 7:2 Death
- Ecclesiastes 7:7 Lit perishes
- Ecclesiastes 7:9 Lit hasty in your spirit
- Ecclesiastes 7:18 Lit rest your hand
- Ecclesiastes 7:18 Lit all
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
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Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
