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Ecclesiastes 7
Lexham English Bible
Ecclesiastes 7
Lexham English Bible
People Generally Do Not Know What is Best for Them
7 A good name is better than precious ointment,
and the day of death is better than the day of one’s birth.
2 Better to go to the house of mourning
than to go to the house of feasting,
for death is the end of every person,
and the living should take it to his heart.
3 Sorrow is better than laughter,
for by sadness of countenance the heart is made good.
4 The heart of the wise is in the house of mourning,
but the heart of fools is in the house of mirth.
5 Better to listen to the rebuke of the wise
than for a man to listen to the song of fools.
6 Like the sound of thorns under a pot,
so also the laughter of fools.
This also is vanity!
Wisdom—Although Vulnerable—is Beneficial
7 Surely oppression makes a fool of the wise,
and a bribe corrupts the heart.
8 The end of a matter is better than its beginning;
better to be slow to anger than hot-headed.[a]
9 Do not be quick in your spirit to anger,
for anger lodges in the bosom of fools.
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 good with an inheritance;
it benefits the living.[b]
12 For wisdom offers protection like money offers protection.[c]
But knowledge has an advantage—wisdom restores life to its possessor.
Humans Must Accept God’s Will and Make the Best of It
13 Consider the work of God.
For who is able to make straight what he made crooked?
14 In the day of prosperity, rejoice!
But in the day of adversity, consider!
For God made one in place of another
so that mortals cannot find out what will happen in the future.[d]
The Law of Retribution Does Not Always Work—but It Does Sometimes
15 I have seen all these things in my vain life:
Sometimes a righteous man perishes in spite of his righteousness,
and sometimes a wicked man lives a long life in spite of his evil.
16 Do not be excessively[e] righteous,
and do not act excessively wise, lest you destroy yourself.
17 Do not act excessively wicked,
and do not be a fool, lest you die before your time.
18 It is good to take hold of the one and also must not let go of the other;
for whoever fears God will hold both of them secure.
Wisdom is Valuable, but No One is Completely Righteous
19 Wisdom gives more strength to the wise
than ten rulers who are in the city.
20 Surely there is no one righteous on the earth
who continually does good and never sins.
21 Do not pay attention to everything people say,
lest you hear your own servant curse you.
22 For your heart knows
that you also have cursed others many times.
Absolute Wisdom is Unattainable
23 All this I have tested with wisdom. I said, “I will be wise!” but it was beyond my grasp.[f] 24 Whatever is—it is far beyond comprehension.[g] Who can discover it?
25 I set my mind to try to seek wisdom and the plan, and to know that wickedness is foolishness and that folly is delusion. 26 I myself found that more bitter than death is the woman who is a trap, whose heart is a snare, and whose hands are bonds. The one who pleases God escapes from her, but the sinner is caught by her. 27 “Look! I found this,” said the Teacher,[h] “while trying to find how the plan fits together. 28 What my heart sought, I did not find. Although I found one righteous man among one thousand, I did not find one upright woman among all these. 29 Look! This alone I found: God made mankind upright, but they have devised many schemes.”
Footnotes
- Ecclesiastes 7:8 Literally “one who is long of spirit is better than one who is high of spirit”
- Ecclesiastes 7:11 Literally “to those who see the sun”
- Ecclesiastes 7:12 Literally “For in the shade of wisdom is the shade of money”
- Ecclesiastes 7:14 Literally “after him”
- Ecclesiastes 7:16 Or “abundantly”
- Ecclesiastes 7:23 Literally “it was far from me”
- Ecclesiastes 7:24 Literally “That which is—it is far and deep deep”
- Ecclesiastes 7:27 Hebrew “Qohelet”
Ecclesiastes 7
New International Version
Ecclesiastes 7
New International Version
Wisdom
7 A good name is better than fine perfume,(A)
and the day of death better than the day of birth.(B)
2 It is better to go to a house of mourning
than to go to a house of feasting,
for death(C) is the destiny(D) of everyone;
the living should take this to heart.
3 Frustration is better than laughter,(E)
because a sad face is good for the heart.
4 The heart of the wise is in the house of mourning,
but the heart of fools is in the house of pleasure.(F)
5 It is better to heed the rebuke(G) of a wise person
than to listen to the song of fools.
6 Like the crackling of thorns(H) under the pot,
so is the laughter(I) of fools.
This too is meaningless.
7 Extortion turns a wise person into a fool,
and a bribe(J) corrupts the heart.
8 The end of a matter is better than its beginning,
and patience(K) is better than pride.
9 Do not be quickly provoked(L) in your spirit,
for anger resides in the lap of fools.(M)
10 Do not say, “Why were the old days(N) better than these?”
For it is not wise to ask such questions.
11 Wisdom, like an inheritance, is a good thing(O)
and benefits those who see the sun.(P)
12 Wisdom is a shelter
as money is a shelter,
but the advantage of knowledge is this:
Wisdom preserves those who have it.
13 Consider what God has done:(Q)
Who can straighten
what he has made crooked?(R)
14 When times are good, be happy;
but when times are bad, consider this:
God has made the one
as well as the other.(S)
Therefore, no one can discover
anything about their future.
15 In this meaningless life(T) of mine I have seen both of these:
the righteous perishing in their righteousness,
and the wicked living long in their wickedness.(U)
16 Do not be overrighteous,
neither be overwise—
why destroy yourself?
17 Do not be overwicked,
and do not be a fool—
why die before your time?(V)
18 It is good to grasp the one
and not let go of the other.
Whoever fears God(W) will avoid all extremes.[a]
20 Indeed, there is no one on earth who is righteous,(Z)
no one who does what is right and never sins.(AA)
21 Do not pay attention to every word people say,
or you(AB) may hear your servant cursing you—
22 for you know in your heart
that many times you yourself have cursed others.
23 All this I tested by wisdom and I said,
“I am determined to be wise”(AC)—
but this was beyond me.
24 Whatever exists is far off and most profound—
who can discover it?(AD)
25 So I turned my mind to understand,
to investigate and to search out wisdom and the scheme of things(AE)
and to understand the stupidity of wickedness
and the madness of folly.(AF)
26 I find more bitter than death
the woman who is a snare,(AG)
whose heart is a trap
and whose hands are chains.
The man who pleases God will escape her,
but the sinner she will ensnare.(AH)
27 “Look,” says the Teacher,[b](AI) “this is what I have discovered:
“Adding one thing to another to discover the scheme of things—
28 while I was still searching
but not finding—
I found one upright man among a thousand,
but not one upright woman(AJ) among them all.
29 This only have I found:
God created mankind upright,
but they have gone in search of many schemes.”
Footnotes
- Ecclesiastes 7:18 Or will follow them both
- Ecclesiastes 7:27 Or the leader of the assembly
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