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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

People Generally Do Not Know What is Best for Them

A good name is better than precious ointment,
    and the day of death is better than the day of one’s birth.
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.
Sorrow is better than laughter,
    for by sadness of countenance the heart is made good.
The heart of the wise is in the house of mourning,
    but the heart of fools is in the house of mirth.
Better to listen to the rebuke of the wise
    than for a man to listen to the song of fools.
Like the sound of thorns under a pot,
    so also the laughter of fools.
This also is vanity!

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