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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
Ecclesiastes 7
New International Reader's Version
Ecclesiastes 7
New International Reader's Version
Good Advice About How to Live
7 A good name is better than fine perfume.
People can learn more from mourning when someone dies
than from being happy when someone is born.
2 So it’s better to go where people are mourning
than to go where people are having a good time.
Everyone will die someday.
Those who are still living
should really think about that.
3 Not being able to figure things out is better than laughter.
That’s because sorrow is good for the heart.
4 Those who are wise are found where there is sorrow.
But foolish people are found where there is pleasure.
5 Pay attention to a wise person’s warning.
That’s better than listening to the songs of those who are foolish.
6 A foolish person’s laughter
is like the crackling of thorns burning under a pot.
That doesn’t have any meaning either.
7 When a wise person takes wealth by force, they become foolish.
It is sinful to take money from people who want special favors.
8 The end of a matter is better than its beginning.
So it’s better to be patient than proud.
9 Don’t become angry quickly.
Anger lives in the hearts of foolish people.
10 Don’t say, “Why were things better in the good old days?”
It isn’t wise to ask that kind of question.
11 Wisdom is a good thing.
It’s like getting a share of the family wealth.
It benefits those who live on this earth.
12 Wisdom provides safety,
just as money provides safety.
But here’s the advantage of wisdom.
It guards those who have it.
13 Think about what God has done.
Who can make straight
what he has made crooked?
14 When times are good, be happy.
But when times are bad, here’s something to think about.
God has made bad times.
He has also made good times.
So no one can find out anything
about what’s ahead for them.
15 In my meaningless life here’s what I’ve seen.
I’ve seen godly people dying
even though they are godly.
And I’ve seen sinful people living a long time
even though they are sinful.
16 Don’t claim to be better than you are.
And don’t claim to be wiser than you are.
Why destroy yourself?
17 Don’t be too sinful.
And don’t be foolish.
Why die before your time comes?
18 It’s good to hold on to both of those things.
Don’t let go of either one.
Whoever has respect for God will avoid
going too far in either direction.
19 Wisdom makes one wise person more powerful
than ten rulers in a city.
20 It is true that there isn’t anyone on earth
who does only what is right and never sins.
21 Don’t pay attention to everything people say.
If you do, you might hear your servant cursing you.
22 Many times you yourself have cursed others.
Deep down inside, you know that’s true.
23 I used wisdom to test all these things. I said,
“I’ve made up my mind to be wise.”
But it was more than I could accomplish.
24 Whatever exists is far away and very deep.
Who can find it?
25 So I tried to understand wisdom more completely.
I wanted to study it and figure it out.
I tried to find out everything I could about it.
I tried to understand why it’s foolish to be evil.
I wanted to see why choosing foolishness is so unwise.
26 A woman who hunts a man down
is more painful than death.
Her heart is like a trap.
Her hands are like chains.
A man who pleases God will try to get away from her.
But she will trap a sinner.
27 “Look,” says the Teacher. “Here’s what I’ve discovered.
“I added one thing to another to find out
everything I could about wisdom.
28 I searched and searched
but found very little.
I did find one honest man among a thousand.
But I didn’t find one honest woman among a thousand.
29 Here’s the only other thing I found.
God created human beings as honest.
But they’ve made many evil plans.”
Ecclesiastes 7
English Standard Version
Ecclesiastes 7
English Standard Version
The Contrast of Wisdom and Folly
7 (A)A good name is better than precious ointment,
and (B)the day of death than the day of birth.
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 all mankind,
and the living will (C)lay it to heart.
3 Sorrow is better than laughter,
(D)for by sadness of face the heart is made glad.
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 (E)better for a man to hear the rebuke of the wise
than to hear the song of fools.
6 (F)For as the crackling of (G)thorns under a pot,
so is the laughter of the fools;
this also is vanity.[a]
7 Surely (H)oppression drives the wise into madness,
and (I)a bribe corrupts the heart.
8 Better is the end of a thing than its beginning,
and (J)the patient in spirit is better than the proud in spirit.
9 (K)Be not quick in your spirit to become angry,
(L)for anger lodges in the heart[b] of fools.
10 Say not, “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,
an advantage to those who (M)see the sun.
12 For the protection of wisdom is like (N)the protection of money,
and the advantage of knowledge is that (O)wisdom preserves the life of him who has it.
13 Consider (P)the work of God:
(Q)who can make straight what he has made crooked?
14 (R)In the day of prosperity be joyful, and in the day of adversity consider: God has made the one as well as the other, (S)so that man may not find out anything that will be after him.
15 In my (T)vain[c] life I have seen everything. There is (U)a righteous man who perishes in his righteousness, and there is a wicked man who (V)prolongs his life in his evildoing. 16 Be not overly righteous, and do not (W)make yourself too wise. Why should you destroy yourself? 17 Be not overly wicked, neither be a fool. (X)Why should you die before your time? 18 It is good that you should take hold of (Y)this, and from (Z)that (AA)withhold not your hand, for the one who fears God shall come out from both of them.
19 (AB)Wisdom gives strength to the wise man more than ten rulers who are in a city.
20 Surely (AC)there is not a righteous man on earth who does good and never sins.
21 Do not take to heart all the things that people say, lest you hear (AD)your servant cursing you. 22 Your heart knows that (AE)many times you yourself have cursed others.
23 All this I have tested by wisdom. (AF)I said, “I will be wise,” but it was far from me. 24 That which has been is far off, and (AG)deep, very deep; (AH)who can find it out?
25 (AI)I turned my heart to know and to search out and to seek wisdom and the scheme of things, and to know the wickedness of folly and the foolishness that is madness. 26 And I find something more (AJ)bitter than death: (AK)the woman whose heart is (AL)snares and nets, and whose hands are fetters. He who pleases God escapes her, but (AM)the sinner is taken by her. 27 Behold, this is what I found, says (AN)the Preacher, while adding one thing to another to find the scheme of things— 28 which my soul has sought repeatedly, but I have not found. (AO)One man among a thousand I found, but (AP)a woman among all these I have not found. 29 See, this alone I found, that (AQ)God made man upright, but (AR)they have sought out many schemes.
Footnotes
- Ecclesiastes 7:6 The Hebrew term hebel can refer to a “vapor” or “mere breath” (see note on 1:2)
- Ecclesiastes 7:9 Hebrew in the bosom
- Ecclesiastes 7:15 The Hebrew term hebel can refer to a “vapor” or “mere breath” (see note on 1:2)
New International Version (NIV) 
Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
NIV Reverse Interlinear Bible: English to Hebrew and English to Greek. Copyright © 2019 by Zondervan.
New International Reader's Version (NIRV) 
Copyright © 1995, 1996, 1998, 2014 by Biblica, Inc.®. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
English Standard Version (ESV) 
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Text Edition: 2016. Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.