Ecclesiastes 7:7-12
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition
7 Surely oppression makes the wise foolish,
and a bribe corrupts the heart.(A)
8 Better is the end of a thing than its beginning;
the patient in spirit are better than the proud in spirit.(B)
9 Do not be quick to anger,
for anger lodges in the bosom of fools.(C)
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 as good as an inheritance,
an advantage to those who see the sun.(D)
12 For the protection of wisdom is like the protection of money,
and the advantage of knowledge is that wisdom gives life to the one who possesses it.
Ecclesiastes 7:19-26
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition
19 Wisdom gives strength to the wise more than ten rulers who are in a city.(A)
20 Surely there is no one on earth so righteous as to do good without ever sinning.(B)
21 Do not give heed to everything that people say, or you may hear your servant cursing you; 22 your heart knows that many times you have yourself cursed others.
23 All this I have tested by wisdom; I said, “I will be wise,” but it was far from me.(C) 24 That which is, is far off, and deep, very deep; who can find it out?(D) 25 I turned my mind to know and to search out and to seek wisdom and the sum of things and to know that wickedness is folly and that foolishness is madness.(E) 26 I found more bitter than death the woman who is a trap, whose heart is nets, whose hands are fetters; one who pleases God escapes her, but the sinner is taken by her.(F)
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Ecclesiastes 10:1-11:6
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition
Miscellaneous Observations
10 Dead flies make the perfumer’s ointment give off a foul odor;[a]
so a little folly outweighs wisdom and honor.
2 The heart of the wise inclines to the right,
but the heart of a fool to the left.
3 Even when fools walk on the road, they lack sense
and show to everyone that they are fools.(A)
4 If the anger of the ruler rises against you, do not leave your post,
for calmness will undo great offenses.(B)
5 There is an evil that I have seen under the sun, as great an error as if it proceeded from the ruler: 6 folly is set in many high places, and the rich sit in a low place.(C) 7 I have seen slaves on horseback and princes walking on the ground like slaves.
8 Whoever digs a pit will fall into it,
and whoever breaks through a wall will be bitten by a snake.(D)
9 Whoever quarries stones will be hurt by them,
and whoever splits logs will be endangered by them.
10 If the iron is blunt and one does not whet the edge,
then more strength must be exerted,
but wisdom helps one to succeed.
11 If the snake bites before it is charmed,
there is no advantage in a charmer.(E)
12 Words spoken by the wise bring them favor,
but the lips of fools consume them.(F)
13 The words of their mouths begin in foolishness,
and their talk ends in wicked madness,(G)
14 yet fools talk on and on.
No one knows what is to happen,
and who can tell anyone what the future holds?(H)
15 The toil of fools wears them out,
for they do not even know the way to town.
16 Alas for you, O land, when your king is a child
and your princes feast in the morning!(I)
17 Happy are you, O land, when your king is a nobleman,
and your princes feast at the proper time—
for strength and not for drunkenness!(J)
18 Through sloth the roof sinks in,
and through indolence the house leaks.(K)
19 Feasts are made for laughter,
wine gladdens life,
and money meets every need.(L)
20 Do not curse the king, even in your thoughts,
or curse the rich, even in your bedroom,
for a bird of the air may carry your voice,
or some winged creature tell the matter.(M)
The Value of Diligence
11 Send out your bread upon the waters,
for after many days you will get it back.(N)
2 Divide your means seven ways, or even eight,
for you do not know what disaster may happen on earth.(O)
3 When clouds are full,
they empty rain on the earth;
whether a tree falls to the south or to the north,
in the place where the tree falls, there it will lie.
4 Whoever observes the wind will not sow,
and whoever regards the clouds will not reap.
5 Just as you do not know how the breath comes to the bones in the mother’s womb, so you do not know the work of God, who makes everything.(P)
6 In the morning sow your seed, and at evening do not let your hands be idle, for you do not know which will prosper, this or that, or whether both alike will be good.(Q)
Footnotes
- 10.1 Gk Vg Syr: Meaning of Heb uncertain
New Revised Standard Version, Updated Edition. Copyright © 2021 National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.