Ecclesiastes 7:1-7

1A good name is better than fine perfume, and the day of one’s death is better than the day of one’s birth.

2It is better to go to a house of mourning than to go to a house of feasting, since that is the end of all mankind, and the living should take it to heart.

3Grief is better than laughter, for when a face is sad, a heart may be glad.

4The heart of the wise is in a house of mourning, but the heart of fools is in a house of pleasure.

5It is better to listen to rebuke from a wise person than to listen to the song of fools,

6for like the crackling of burning thorns under the pot, so is the laughter of the fool. This too is futile.

7Surely, the practice of extortion turns a wise person into a fool, and a bribe corrupts the mind.