Ecclesiastes 7
New Century Version
Some Benefits of Serious Thinking
7 It is better to have respect than good perfume.
The day of death is better than the day of birth.
2 It is better to go to a funeral
than to a party.
We all must die,
and everyone living should think about this.
3 Sorrow is better than laughter,
and sadness has a good influence on you.
4 A wise person thinks about death,
but a fool thinks only about having a good time.
5 It is better to be criticized by a wise person
than to be praised by a fool.
6 The laughter of fools
is like the crackling of thorns in a cooking fire.
Both are useless.
7 Even wise people are fools
if they let money change their thinking.
8 It is better to finish something
than to start it.
It is better to be patient
than to be proud.
9 Don’t become angry quickly,
because getting angry is foolish.
10 Don’t ask, “Why was life better in the ‘good old days’?”
It is not wise to ask such questions.
11 Wisdom is better when it comes with money.
They both help those who are alive.
12 Wisdom is like money:
they both help.
But wisdom is better,
because it can save whoever has it.
13 Look at what God has done:
No one can straighten what he has bent.
14 When life is good, enjoy it.
But when life is hard, remember:
God gives good times and hard times,
and no one knows what tomorrow will bring.
It Is Impossible to Be Truly Good
15 In my useless life I have seen both of these:
I have seen good people die in spite of their goodness
and evil people live a long time in spite of their evil.
16 Don’t be too right,
and don’t be too wise.
Why destroy yourself?
17 Don’t be too wicked,
and don’t be foolish.
Why die before your time?
18 It is good to grab the one and not let go of the other;
those who honor God will hold them both.
19 Wisdom makes a person stronger
than ten leaders in a city.
20 Surely there is not a good person on earth
who always does good and never sins.
21 Don’t listen to everything people say,
or you might hear your servant insulting you.
22 You know that many times
you have insulted others.
23 I used wisdom to test all these things.
I wanted to be wise,
but it was too hard for me.
24 I cannot understand why things are as they are.
It is too hard for anyone to understand.
25 I studied and tried very hard to find wisdom,
to find some meaning for everything.
I learned that it is foolish to be evil,
and it is crazy to act like a fool.
26 I found that some women are worse than death
and are as dangerous as traps.
Their love is like a net,
and their arms hold men like chains.
A man who pleases God will be saved from them,
but a sinner will be caught by them.
27 The Teacher says, “This is what I learned:
I added all these things together
to find some meaning for everything.
28 While I was searching,
I did not find one man among the thousands I found.
Nor did I find a woman among all these.
29 One thing I have learned:
God made people good,
but they have found all kinds of ways to be bad.”
Ecclesiastes 7
New King James Version
The Value of Practical Wisdom
7 A (A)good name is better than precious ointment,
And the day of death than the day of one’s (B)birth;
2 Better to go to the house of mourning
Than to go to the house of feasting,
For that is the end of all men;
And the living will take it to (C)heart.
3 [a]Sorrow is better than laughter,
(D)For by a sad countenance the heart is made [b]better.
4 The heart of the wise is in the house of mourning,
But the heart of fools is in the house of mirth.
5 (E)It is better to [c]hear the rebuke of the wise
Than for a man to hear the song of fools.
6 (F)For like the [d]crackling of thorns under a pot,
So is the laughter of the fool.
This also is vanity.
7 Surely oppression destroys a wise man’s reason,
(G)And a bribe [e]debases the heart.
8 The end of a thing is better than its beginning;
(H)The patient in spirit is better than the proud in spirit.
9 (I)Do not hasten in your spirit to be angry,
For anger rests in the bosom of fools.
10 Do not say,
“Why were the former days better than these?”
For you do not inquire wisely concerning this.
11 Wisdom is good with an inheritance,
And profitable (J)to those who see the sun.
12 For wisdom is [f]a (K)defense as money is a defense,
But the [g]excellence of knowledge is that wisdom gives (L)life to those who have it.
13 Consider the work of God;
For (M)who can make straight what He has made crooked?
14 (N)In the day of prosperity be joyful,
But in the day of adversity consider:
Surely God has appointed the one [h]as well as the other,
So that man can find out nothing that will come after him.
15 I have seen everything in my days of vanity:
(O)There is a just man who perishes in his righteousness,
And there is a wicked man who prolongs life in his wickedness.
16 (P)Do not be overly righteous,
(Q)Nor be overly wise:
Why should you destroy yourself?
17 Do not be overly wicked,
Nor be foolish:
(R)Why should you die before your time?
18 It is good that you grasp this,
And also not remove your hand from the other;
For he who (S)fears God will [i]escape them all.
19 (T)Wisdom strengthens the wise
More than ten rulers of the city.
20 (U)For there is not a just man on earth who does good
And does not sin.
21 Also do not take to heart everything people say,
Lest you hear your servant cursing you.
22 For many times, also, your own heart has known
That even you have cursed others.
23 All this I have [j]proved by wisdom.
(V)I said, “I will be wise”;
But it was far from me.
24 (W)As for that which is far off and (X)exceedingly deep,
Who can find it out?
25 (Y)I applied my heart to know,
To search and seek out wisdom and the reason of things,
To know the wickedness of folly,
Even of foolishness and madness.
26 (Z)And I find more bitter than death
The woman whose heart is snares and nets,
Whose hands are fetters.
[k]He who pleases God shall escape from her,
But the sinner shall be trapped by her.
27 “Here is what I have found,” says (AA)the Preacher,
“Adding one thing to the other to find out the reason,
28 Which my soul still seeks but I cannot find:
(AB)One man among a thousand I have found,
But a woman among all these I have not found.
29 Truly, this only I have found:
(AC)That God made man upright,
But (AD)they have sought out many schemes.”
Footnotes
- Ecclesiastes 7:3 Vexation or Grief
- Ecclesiastes 7:3 well or pleasing
- Ecclesiastes 7:5 listen to
- Ecclesiastes 7:6 Lit. sound
- Ecclesiastes 7:7 destroys
- Ecclesiastes 7:12 A protective shade, lit. shadow
- Ecclesiastes 7:12 advantage or profit
- Ecclesiastes 7:14 alongside
- Ecclesiastes 7:18 Lit. come forth from all of them
- Ecclesiastes 7:23 tested
- Ecclesiastes 7:26 Lit. He who is good before God
The Holy Bible, New Century Version®. Copyright © 2005 by Thomas Nelson, Inc.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.