Ecclesiastes 7:7-12
English Standard Version
7 Surely (A)oppression drives the wise into madness,
and (B)a bribe corrupts the heart.
8 Better is the end of a thing than its beginning,
and (C)the patient in spirit is better than the proud in spirit.
9 (D)Be not quick in your spirit to become angry,
(E)for anger lodges in the heart[a] 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 (F)see the sun.
12 For the protection of wisdom is like (G)the protection of money,
and the advantage of knowledge is that (H)wisdom preserves the life of him who has it.
Footnotes
- Ecclesiastes 7:9 Hebrew in the bosom
Ecclesiastes 7:19-26
English Standard Version
19 (A)Wisdom gives strength to the wise man more than ten rulers who are in a city.
20 Surely (B)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 (C)your servant cursing you. 22 Your heart knows that (D)many times you yourself have cursed others.
23 All this I have tested by wisdom. (E)I said, “I will be wise,” but it was far from me. 24 That which has been is far off, and (F)deep, very deep; (G)who can find it out?
25 (H)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 (I)bitter than death: (J)the woman whose heart is (K)snares and nets, and whose hands are fetters. He who pleases God escapes her, but (L)the sinner is taken by her.
Read full chapter
Ecclesiastes 10:1-11:6
English Standard Version
10 Dead flies make (A)the perfumer's ointment give off a stench;
so a little folly outweighs wisdom and honor.
2 (B)A wise man's heart inclines him to the right,
but a fool's heart to the left.
3 Even when the fool walks on the road, he lacks sense,
and he (C)says to everyone that he is a fool.
4 If the anger of the ruler rises against you, (D)do not leave your place,
(E)for calmness[a] will lay great offenses to rest.
5 There is an evil that I have seen under the sun, as it were (F)an error proceeding from the ruler: 6 (G)folly is set in many high places, and the rich sit in a low place. 7 (H)I have seen slaves (I)on horses, and princes walking on the ground like slaves.
8 He who (J)digs a pit will fall into it,
and (K)a serpent will bite him who breaks through a wall.
9 (L)He who quarries stones is hurt by them,
and he who (M)splits logs is endangered by them.
10 If the iron is blunt, and one does not sharpen the edge,
he must use more strength,
but wisdom helps one to succeed.[b]
11 If the serpent bites before it is (N)charmed,
there is no advantage to the charmer.
12 The words of a wise man's mouth (O)win him favor,[c]
but (P)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 evil madness.
14 (Q)A fool multiplies words,
though no man knows what is to be,
and who can tell him (R)what will be after him?
15 The toil of a fool wearies him,
for he does not know (S)the way to the city.
16 (T)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 the nobility,
and your princes feast at the proper time,
for strength, and not for (U)drunkenness!
18 Through sloth the roof sinks in,
and through indolence the house leaks.
19 Bread is made for laughter,
and (V)wine gladdens life,
and (W)money answers everything.
20 Even in your thoughts, (X)do not curse the king,
nor in your (Y)bedroom curse the rich,
for a bird of the air will carry your voice,
or some winged creature tell the matter.
Cast Your Bread upon the Waters
11 (Z)Cast your bread upon the waters,
(AA)for you will find it after many days.
2 (AB)Give a portion to (AC)seven, or even to eight,
(AD)for you know not what disaster 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 the way (AE)the spirit comes to (AF)the bones in the womb[d] 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 (AG)withhold not your hand, for you do not know which will prosper, this or that, or whether both alike will be good.
Footnotes
- Ecclesiastes 10:4 Hebrew healing
- Ecclesiastes 10:10 Or wisdom is an advantage for success
- Ecclesiastes 10:12 Or are gracious
- Ecclesiastes 11:5 Some Hebrew manuscripts, Targum; most Hebrew manuscripts As you do not know the way of the wind, or how the bones grow in the womb
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Text Edition: 2016. Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.
Bible Gateway Recommends
