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I became greater by far than anyone in Jerusalem before me. In all this my wisdom stayed with me.
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I saw that wisdom is better than folly, just as light is better than darkness.
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A person can do nothing better than to eat and drink and find satisfaction in their own toil. This too, I see, is from the hand of God,
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I know that there is nothing better for people than to be happy and to do good while they live.
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So I saw that there is nothing better for a person than to enjoy their work, because that is their lot. For who can bring them to see what will happen after them?
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But better than both is the one who has never been born, who has not seen the evil that is done under the sun.
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Better one handful with tranquillity than two handfuls with toil and chasing after the wind.
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Two are better than one, because they have a good return for their labor:
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Advancement Is Meaningless
Better a poor but wise youth than an old but foolish king who no longer knows how to heed a warning.
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It is better not to make a vow than to make one and not fulfill it.
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A man may have a hundred children and live many years; yet no matter how long he lives, if he cannot enjoy his prosperity and does not receive proper burial, I say that a stillborn child is better off than he.
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Better what the eye sees than the roving of the appetite. This too is meaningless, a chasing after the wind.
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Wisdom
A good name is better than fine perfume, and the day of death better than the day of birth.
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It is better to go to a house of mourning than to go to a house of feasting, for death is the destiny of everyone; the living should take this to heart.
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Frustration is better than laughter, because a sad face is good for the heart.
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It is better to heed the rebuke of a wise person than to listen to the song of fools.
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The end of a matter is better than its beginning, and patience is better than pride.
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Do not say, “Why were the old days better than these?” For it is not wise to ask such questions.
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Although a wicked person who commits a hundred crimes may live a long time, I know that it will go better with those who fear God, who are reverent before him.
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So I commend the enjoyment of life, because there is nothing better for a person under the sun than to eat and drink and be glad. Then joy will accompany them in their toil all the days of the life God has given them under the sun.
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Anyone who is among the living has hope—even a live dog is better off than a dead lion!
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Wisdom Better Than Folly
I also saw under the sun this example of wisdom that greatly impressed me:
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So I said, “Wisdom is better than strength.” But the poor man’s wisdom is despised, and his words are no longer heeded.
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Wisdom is better than weapons of war, but one sinner destroys much good.
