Ecclesiastes 7:7-12
Revised Standard Version
7 Surely oppression makes the wise man foolish,
and a bribe corrupts the mind.
8 Better is the end of a thing than its beginning;
and the patient in spirit is better than the proud in spirit.
9 Be not quick to anger,
for anger lodges in the bosom 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 see the sun.
12 For the protection of wisdom is like the protection of money;
and the advantage of knowledge is that wisdom preserves the life of him who has it.
Ecclesiastes 7:19-26
Revised Standard Version
19 Wisdom gives strength to the wise man more than ten rulers that are in a city.
20 Surely there is not a righteous man on earth who does good and never sins.
21 Do not give heed to all the things that men say, lest you 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. 24 That which is, is far off, and deep, very deep; who can find it out? 25 I turned my mind to know and to search out and to seek wisdom and the sum of things, and to know the wickedness of folly and the foolishness which is madness. 26 And I found more bitter than death the woman whose heart is snares and nets, and whose hands are fetters; he who pleases God escapes her, but the sinner is taken by her.
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Ecclesiastes 10:1-11:6
Revised Standard Version
Miscellaneous Observations
10 Dead flies make the perfumer’s ointment give off an evil odor;
so a little folly outweighs wisdom and honor.
2 A wise man’s heart inclines him toward the right,
but a fool’s heart toward the left.
3 Even when the fool walks on the road, he lacks sense,
and he says to every one that he is a fool.
4 If the anger of the ruler rises against you, do not leave your place,
for deference will make amends for great offenses.
5 There is an evil which I have seen under the sun, as it were an error proceeding from the ruler: 6 folly is set in many high places, and the rich sit in a low place. 7 I have seen slaves on horses, and princes walking on foot like slaves.
8 He who digs a pit will fall into it;
and a serpent will bite him who breaks through a wall.
9 He who quarries stones is hurt by them;
and he who splits logs is endangered by them.
10 If the iron is blunt, and one does not whet the edge,
he must put forth more strength;
but wisdom helps one to succeed.
11 If the serpent bites before it is charmed,
there is no advantage in a charmer.
12 The words of a wise man’s mouth win him favor,
but the lips of a fool consume him.
13 The beginning of the words of his mouth is foolishness,
and the end of his talk is wicked madness.
14 A fool multiplies words,
though no man knows what is to be,
and who can tell him what will be after him?
15 The toil of a fool wearies him,
so that he does not know the way to the city.
16 Woe to you, O land, when your king is a child,
and your princes feast in the morning!
17 Happy are you, O land, when your king is the son of free men,
and your princes feast at the proper time,
for strength, and not for drunkenness!
18 Through sloth the roof sinks in,
and through indolence the house leaks.
19 Bread is made for laughter,
and wine gladdens life,
and money answers everything.
20 Even in your thought, do not curse the king,
nor in your bedchamber curse the rich;
for a bird of the air will carry your voice,
or some winged creature tell the matter.
The Value of Diligence
11 Cast your bread upon the waters,
for you will find it after many days.
2 Give a portion to seven, or even to eight,
for you know not what evil may happen on earth.
3 If the clouds are full of rain,
they empty themselves on the earth;
and if a tree falls to the south or to the north,
in the place where the tree falls, there it will lie.
4 He who observes the wind will not sow;
and he who regards the clouds will not reap.
5 As you do not know how the spirit comes to the bones in the womb[a] of a woman with child, so you do not know the work of God who makes everything.
6 In the morning sow your seed, and at evening withhold not your hand; for you do not know which will prosper, this or that, or whether both alike will be good.
Footnotes
- Ecclesiastes 11:5 Or As you do not know the way of the wind, or how the bones grow in the womb
Revised Standard Version of the Bible, copyright © 1946, 1952, and 1971 the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
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