Prediker 7
BasisBijbel
Echte wijsheid
7 Als goede mensen goede dingen over je zeggen, is dat beter dan dat je er goed uitziet.
En de dag dat je sterft, is beter dan de dag dat je werd geboren.
2 Het is beter om naar een begrafenis te gaan, dan naar een feest. Want de dood is het einde van ieder mens. Dat moeten we niet vergeten.
3 Verdriet is beter dan plezier, want als je laat merken dat je verdrietig bent, helpt dat je om er overheen te komen.
4 Wijze mensen denken na over de dood. Maar dwaze mensen denken alleen maar aan plezier maken.
5 Het is beter om te luisteren naar een waarschuwing van wijze mensen, dan naar het vrolijke zingen van dwazen. 6 Want het lachen van een dwaas is net zo snel voorbij als het geknetter van brandende dorens onder een pan. Het is maar lucht.
7 Luister goed: door afpersing wordt een wijs man dwaas, en door omkoping wordt een goed mens slecht.
8 Het einde van iets is beter dan het begin ervan.
Het is beter om geduldig te zijn dan trots.
9 Erger je niet te snel ergens aan, want ergernis woont in het hart van de dwazen.
10 Vraag niet: "Hoe komt het dat het vroeger beter was dan nu?" Want dat is geen wijze vraag.
11 Wijsheid is net zo belangrijk als een erfenis. Het is iets goeds voor de mensen die onder de zon leven. 12 Want wijsheid beschermt, net zoals geld beschermt. Maar wijsheid is nog beter dan geld, want door wijsheid weet een wijs mens hoe hij leven moet.
13 Kijk naar wat God doet. Wie kan recht maken wat Hij heeft gebogen?
14 Geniet wanneer het goed met je gaat. Maar bedenk in moeilijke tijden: "Ook deze dagen heeft God gemaakt, net zoals die andere dagen." Een mens heeft geen idee van wat er in de toekomst gebeuren zal.
15 Ik heb van alles gezien in de korte tijd dat ik leef op aarde. Bijvoorbeeld: een goed en eerlijk mens met wie het toch slecht afloopt. En een slecht mens die toch lang leeft. 16 Wees niet al te goed en eerlijk. Wees niet al te wijs. Je zou jezelf er alleen maar kwaad mee doen. 17 Maar wees ook niet al te slecht en wees geen dwaas. Want waarom zou je sterven vóór het je tijd is? 18 Probeer het midden te vinden tussen wijs en dwaas. Als je ontzag hebt voor God, zul je het juiste midden weten te vinden.
19 Eén wijs mens is door zijn wijsheid machtiger dan tien bestuurders van een stad.
20 Niemand op aarde leeft zó goed, dat hij nooit iets verkeerds doet. 21 Luister daarom niet naar alles wat er gezegd wordt. Want anders hoor je nog dat je knecht je vervloekt. 22 Want van binnen weet je wel dat je zelf ook vaak andere mensen vervloekt hebt.
Predikers zoektocht naar wijsheid
23 Ik heb dit allemaal onderzocht omdat ik wijs wilde worden. Maar het is me niet gelukt: de wijsheid bleef onbereikbaar. 24 Hoe kún je bereiken wat zo ver weg is en zo diep verstopt zit? Het leven is niet te begrijpen. 25 Ik bestudeerde alles, omdat het mijn diepste wens was om meer te weten en te begrijpen. Ik wilde bewijzen dat het dwaas is om je niets van God aan te trekken. Dat het dwaas is om onverstandig te zijn. 26 En ik ontdekte iets wat nog erger is dan de dood: een ontrouwe vrouw. Haar hart is een valkuil en haar handen zijn boeien. Iemand die van God houdt, kan aan haar ontsnappen. Maar iemand die niet om God geeft, wordt door haar gevangen.
27 Dit is wat ik ontdekt heb – ik heb over de dingen nagedacht, omdat ik tot een goede conclusie wilde komen. 28 Maar ik heb die conclusie nog niet gevonden. Ik ben er nog steeds naar op zoek. Onder duizend mensen heb ik maar één goede man gevonden. Maar geen enkele goede vrouw. 29 Maar wat ik wél heb ontdekt, is dat God de mensen wel goed gemaakt heeft, maar dat ze zelf allerlei slechte dingen bedenken.
Ecclesiastes 7
English Standard Version
The Contrast of Wisdom and Folly
7 (A)A good name is better than precious ointment,
and (B)the day of death than the day of birth.
2 It is better to go to the house of mourning
than to go to the house of feasting,
for this is the end of all mankind,
and the living will (C)lay it to heart.
3 Sorrow is better than laughter,
(D)for by sadness of face the heart is made glad.
4 The heart of the wise is in the house of mourning,
but the heart of fools is in the house of mirth.
5 It is (E)better for a man to hear the rebuke of the wise
than to hear the song of fools.
6 (F)For as the crackling of (G)thorns under a pot,
so is the laughter of the fools;
this also is vanity.[a]
7 Surely (H)oppression drives the wise into madness,
and (I)a bribe corrupts the heart.
8 Better is the end of a thing than its beginning,
and (J)the patient in spirit is better than the proud in spirit.
9 (K)Be not quick in your spirit to become angry,
(L)for anger lodges in the heart[b] 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 (M)see the sun.
12 For the protection of wisdom is like (N)the protection of money,
and the advantage of knowledge is that (O)wisdom preserves the life of him who has it.
13 Consider (P)the work of God:
(Q)who can make straight what he has made crooked?
14 (R)In the day of prosperity be joyful, and in the day of adversity consider: God has made the one as well as the other, (S)so that man may not find out anything that will be after him.
15 In my (T)vain[c] life I have seen everything. There is (U)a righteous man who perishes in his righteousness, and there is a wicked man who (V)prolongs his life in his evildoing. 16 Be not overly righteous, and do not (W)make yourself too wise. Why should you destroy yourself? 17 Be not overly wicked, neither be a fool. (X)Why should you die before your time? 18 It is good that you should take hold of (Y)this, and from (Z)that (AA)withhold not your hand, for the one who fears God shall come out from both of them.
19 (AB)Wisdom gives strength to the wise man more than ten rulers who are in a city.
20 Surely (AC)there is not a righteous man on earth who does good and never sins.
21 Do not take to heart all the things that people say, lest you hear (AD)your servant cursing you. 22 Your heart knows that (AE)many times you yourself have cursed others.
23 All this I have tested by wisdom. (AF)I said, “I will be wise,” but it was far from me. 24 That which has been is far off, and (AG)deep, very deep; (AH)who can find it out?
25 (AI)I turned my heart to know and to search out and to seek wisdom and the scheme of things, and to know the wickedness of folly and the foolishness that is madness. 26 And I find something more (AJ)bitter than death: (AK)the woman whose heart is (AL)snares and nets, and whose hands are fetters. He who pleases God escapes her, but (AM)the sinner is taken by her. 27 Behold, this is what I found, says (AN)the Preacher, while adding one thing to another to find the scheme of things— 28 which my soul has sought repeatedly, but I have not found. (AO)One man among a thousand I found, but (AP)a woman among all these I have not found. 29 See, this alone I found, that (AQ)God made man upright, but (AR)they have sought out many schemes.
Footnotes
- Ecclesiastes 7:6 The Hebrew term hebel can refer to a “vapor” or “mere breath” (see note on 1:2)
- Ecclesiastes 7:9 Hebrew in the bosom
- Ecclesiastes 7:15 The Hebrew term hebel can refer to a “vapor” or “mere breath” (see note on 1:2)
Ecclesiastes 7
New Catholic Bible
Search for Human Equilibrium
How To Discover?
Chapter 7
Laughter and Anguish[a]
1 A good name is better than precious ointment,
and the day of death than the day of birth.[b]
2 It is better to go to the house of mourning
than to the house of feasting.
For that is the end of every man;
let the living take it to heart.
3 Sorrow is better than laughter,
because a sad countenance may conceal a joyful heart.
4 The heart of the wise is in the house of mourning,
but the heart of fools is in the house of gaiety.
5 It is better to pay heed to the rebuke of the wise
than to listen to the songs of fools.
6 For like the crackling of thorns under a pot,
so is the laughter of fools.
This also is vanity.
7 Oppression can make a wise man foolish
and a bribe corrupts the heart.
The Refuge of Wisdom[c]
8 Better is the end of anything than its beginning;
better are the patient in spirit than the proud in spirit.
9 Do not become easily angered,
for anger lodges in the heart of fools.
10 Do not assert that the past was better than the present,
for such a statement is not a sign of wisdom.
11 Wisdom is as good as an inheritance
and an advantage to those who see the sun.
12 Safeguard wisdom as you would a legacy,
and the advantage of knowledge is this:
it bestows life on the one who possesses it.
13 Consider the work of God.
Who can make straight
what God has made crooked?
14 When things are going well, be grateful for your blessings,
and in times of adversity consider this:
God has made both of them,
so that we cannot predict with confidence
what the future holds.
Whoever Wants To Be an Angel Ends Up as a Beast[d]
15 During my span of life I have seen everything:
Righteous people who perish in their uprightness,
and wicked people who grow old in their wickedness.
16 Do not be excessively righteous
or show yourself to be unduly wise.[e]
Why should you destroy yourself?
17 Do not be excessively wicked
or act like a fool.
Why should you die before your time?[f]
18 It would be best for you to hold on to one
and not let go of the other.[g]
For the one who fears God will eventually succeed.
19 Wisdom gives greater strength to the wise man
than ten rulers in a city.
20 There is no one on earth who is so righteous
that he does nothing but good and never sins.[h]
21 If you do not pay attention to all that people say,
you will never hear your servant speaking ill of you.
22 For you know in your heart
that you have often spoken ill of others.
23 All this I have put to the test of wisdom:
I said, “I am determined to be wise,”
but such wisdom was beyond my reach.
24 This state of wisdom is far off and buried very deep.
Who can discover it?
Man and Woman[i]
25 I then turned my thoughts
in the direction of knowledge.
My mind sought to search out and seek wisdom
and the reason why things are as they are,
only to realize that it is foolish to be wicked
and madness to act like a fool.
26 I find more bitter than death
the woman who is a snare:[j]
her heart is a net
and her arms are chains.
One who pleases God escapes her clutches,
but the sinner is captured by her.
27 Behold, this is what I have discovered, says Qoheleth:
As I have added one thing to another in order to draw some conclusion,
28 which my mind has sought repeatedly
but has not yet discovered,
I have found one man out of a thousand,
but a woman among them all I have not found.
29 This alone have I found out:
God made human beings straightforward,
but they often follow devious paths.
Footnotes
- Ecclesiastes 7:1 We must realize that there is no equality between life and death; death will always have the last word. It is useless for us to try to evade this point; a proper equilibrium lies in accepting the human condition such as it is.
- Ecclesiastes 7:1 The day of death [is better] than the day of birth: see 2 Cor 5:1-10; Phil 1:21-23. In verses 2-6, Qoheleth shows how we learn more from times of trial than from times of happiness.
- Ecclesiastes 7:8 Wisdom is a refuge for human beings. The present moment is God’s gift to humans; by living it correctly we get closer to God (see Rom 8:28-29).
- Ecclesiastes 7:15 We should not imagine that by dint of our performance in justice, i.e., in virtue, we could guarantee our future and rejoice at the fall of the wicked. Such a pretense would ordinarily become perverted into pride and severity. Wisdom is the power of life, but no one can possess it; we can only try to live wisely and humbly.
- Ecclesiastes 7:16 Excessively righteous . . . unduly wise: these attitudes are to be avoided, for they lead to self-righteousness and pride.
- Ecclesiastes 7:17 In Old Testament times, the wicked were regarded as certain to undergo an untimely end at the hand of God (see 1 Sam 2:31-34; Ps 55:24; Prov 10:27; Jer 17:11).
- Ecclesiastes 7:18 Hold on to one and not let go of the other: i.e., the words in verses 16-17.
- Ecclesiastes 7:20 For more on the truth set forth in this verse, see Rom 3:9-20 and note; 5:12-21 and note.
- Ecclesiastes 7:25 The wisdom of the time easily set forth its warnings about the seductress in the belief that every woman is by nature a trap for men. Qoheleth recalls these clichés, but one has the impression that he regards them as caricatures; for he knows that man is more complicated, or, better, that he makes things more complicated.
- Ecclesiastes 7:26 The woman who is a snare: this is the seductress about whom men are warned (see Prov 2:16-19; 5:1-14; 6:24-29; 7:1-27), but elsewhere Scripture exalts the virtues of man’s lifetime companion (see Eccl 9:9; Prov 5:15-23; 31:10-31).
© stichting BasisBijbel 2013 Gecorrigeerde tekst © 2015 Alle rechten voorbehouden Uitgegeven bij de ZakBijbelBond: 2016
The ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. ESV Text Edition: 2025.
