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Wisdom and Folly Contrasted

Better is a (A)good name than good oil,
And better is the (B)day of one’s death than the day of one’s birth.
Better to go to a house of mourning
Than to go to a house of feasting
Because [a]that is the (C)end of all mankind,
And the living (D)puts this in his heart.
(E)Better is vexation than laughter,
For (F)when a face is sad a heart may be merry.
The heart of the wise is in the house of mourning,
While the heart of fools is in the house of gladness.
Better to (G)listen to the rebuke of a wise man
Than for one to listen to the song of fools.
For as the crackling sound of (H)thorn bushes under a pot,
So is the (I)laughter of the fool;
And this too is vanity.

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Footnotes

  1. Ecclesiastes 7:2 Death

Wise Sayings

A good name is better than fine perfume,(A)
and the day of one’s death than the day of one’s birth.(B)
It is better to go to a house of mourning
than to go to a house of feasting,
since that is the end of all mankind,
and the living should take it to heart.(C)
Grief is better than laughter,
for when a face is sad, a heart may be glad.(D)
The heart of the wise is in a house of mourning,
but the heart of fools is in a house of pleasure.
It is better to listen to rebuke from a wise person
than to listen to the song of fools,(E)
for like the crackling of burning thorns under the pot,(F)
so is the laughter of the fool.
This too is futile.

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