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
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
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