Ecclesiastes 7

Wisdom and Folly Contrasted

1A 1good name is better than a good ointment, And the 2day 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, Because 3that is the 4end of every man, And the living 56takes it to 7heart.38Sorrow is better than laughter, For 9when a face is sad a heart may be happy.4The 10mind of the wise is in the house of mourning, While the 11mind of fools is in the house of pleasure.5It is better to 12listen to the rebuke of a wise man Than for one to listen to the song of fools.6For as the 13crackling of 14thorn bushes under a pot, So is the 15laughter of the fool; And this too is futility.7For 16oppression makes a wise man mad, And a 17bribe 18corrupts the heart.8The 19end of a matter is better than its beginning; 20Patience of spirit is better than haughtiness of spirit.9Do not be 2122eager in your heart to be angry, For anger resides in the bosom of fools.10Do not say, “Why is it that the former days were better than these?” For it is not from wisdom that you ask about this.11Wisdom along with an inheritance is good And an 23advantage to those who see the sun.12For 24wisdom is 25protection just as money is 26protection, But the advantage of knowledge is that 27wisdom preserves the lives of its possessors.13Consider the 28work of God, For who is 29able to straighten what He has bent?1430In the day of prosperity be happy, But 31in the day of adversity consider-- God has made the one as well as the other So that man will 32not discover anything that will be after him.

15I have seen everything during my 3334lifetime of futility; there is 35a righteous man who perishes in his righteousness and there is 36a wicked man who prolongs his life in his wickedness. 16Do not be excessively 37righteous and do not 38be overly wise. Why should you ruin yourself? 17Do not be excessively wicked and do not be a fool. Why should you 39die before your time? 18It is good that you grasp one thing and also not 40let go of the other; for the one who 41fears God comes forth with 42both of them.

1943Wisdom strengthens a wise man more than ten rulers who are in a city. 20Indeed, 44there is not a righteous man on earth who continually does good and who never sins. 21Also, do not 45take seriously all words which are spoken, so that you will not hear your servant 46cursing you. 22For 47you also have realized that you likewise have many times cursed others.

23I tested all this with wisdom, and I said, “I will be wise,” 48but it was far from me. 24What has been is remote and 49exceedingly 50mysterious. 51Who can discover it? 25I 5253directed my 54mind to know, to investigate and to seek wisdom and an explanation, and to know the evil of folly and the foolishness of madness. 26And I discovered more 55bitter than death the woman whose heart is 56snares and nets, whose hands are chains. 57One who is pleasing to God will escape from her, but 58the sinner will be captured by her.

27“Behold, I have discovered this,” says the Preacher, “adding one thing to another to find an explanation, 28which 59I am still seeking but have not found. I have found one man among a thousand, but I have not found a 60woman among all these. 29Behold, I have found only this, that 61God made men upright, but they have sought out many devices.”