Ecclesiastes 7:1-7

1Better is a good reputation than precious oil and the day of death than the day of birth.

2Better to go to a house of mourning than to go to the 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 though the face is sad, the 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.

5Better to hear a rebuke from the wise than to listen to the song of fools.

6For like the crackling of thorns under a pot, so is the laughter of the fool. This too is vapor.

7For extortion drives a wise man crazy, and a bribe corrupts the heart.