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 Revised Standard Version Updated Edition
A Disillusioned View of Life
7 A good name is better than precious ointment,
and the day of death, than the day of birth.(A)
2 It is better to go to the house of mourning
than to go to the house of feasting,
for this is the end of everyone,
and the living will lay it to heart.(B)
3 Sorrow is better than laughter,
for by sadness of countenance the heart is made glad.(C)
4 The heart of the wise is in the house of mourning,
but the heart of fools is in the house of mirth.
5 It is better to hear the rebuke of the wise
than to hear the song of fools.(D)
6 For like the crackling of thorns under a pot,
so is the laughter of fools;
this also is vanity.
7 Surely oppression makes the wise foolish,
and a bribe corrupts the heart.(E)
8 Better is the end of a thing than its beginning;
the patient in spirit are better than the proud in spirit.(F)
9 Do not be quick to anger,
for anger lodges in the bosom of fools.(G)
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 as good as an inheritance,
an advantage to those who see the sun.(H)
12 For the protection of wisdom is like the protection of money,
and the advantage of knowledge is that wisdom gives life to the one who possesses it.
13 Consider the work of God;
who can make straight what he has made crooked?(I)
14 In the day of prosperity, be joyful, and in the day of adversity, consider: God has made the one as well as the other, so that mortals may not find out anything that comes after them.(J)
The Riddles of Life
15 In my vain life I have seen everything; there are righteous people who perish in their righteousness, and there are wicked people who prolong their life in their evildoing.(K) 16 Do not be too righteous, and do not act too wise; why should you destroy yourself?(L) 17 Do not be too wicked, and do not be a fool; why should you die before your time? 18 It is good that you should take hold of the one without letting go of the other, for the one who fears God shall succeed with both.
19 Wisdom gives strength to the wise more than ten rulers who are in a city.(M)
20 Surely there is no one on earth so righteous as to do good without ever sinning.(N)
21 Do not give heed to everything that people say, or you may hear your servant cursing you; 22 your heart knows that many times you have yourself cursed others.
23 All this I have tested by wisdom; I said, “I will be wise,” but it was far from me.(O) 24 That which is, is far off, and deep, very deep; who can find it out?(P) 25 I turned my mind to know and to search out and to seek wisdom and the sum of things and to know that wickedness is folly and that foolishness is madness.(Q) 26 I found more bitter than death the woman who is a trap, whose heart is nets, whose hands are fetters; one who pleases God escapes her, but the sinner is taken by her.(R) 27 See, this is what I found, says the Teacher, adding one thing to another to find the sum,(S) 28 which my mind has sought repeatedly, but I have not found. One man among a thousand I found, but a woman among all these I have not found. 29 See, this alone I found, that God made human beings straightforward, but they have devised many schemes.(T)
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New Revised Standard Version, Updated Edition. Copyright © 2021 National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.