Ecclesiastes 7:1-6

Evangelical Heritage Version

What Is Better?

7 A good reputation is better than the best perfume, and the day of one’s death is better than the day of his birth. ² Better to go to a funeral than to a feast,^[a] since death is the final destination for all mankind. The living must take this to heart! ³ Grief is better than laughter, because a sad face does a heart good.

⁴ The hearts of the wise think about the funeral, but the hearts of fools think about the feast. ⁵ It is better to hear a rebuke from a wise man than to listen to a happy song from fools, ⁶ for the fool’s laughter sounds like thorns crackling under a cooking pot. This too is vapor.