Ecclesiastes 7:1-10

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;
²Better 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.
⁴The 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.
⁷Surely oppression destroys a wise man’s reason,
^(G)And a bribe ^[e]debases the heart.

⁸The 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.
¹⁰Do not say,
“Why were the former days better than these?”
For you do not inquire wisely concerning this.