Ecclesiastes 7

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Literal

The Value of Wisdom

¹A good name is better than fine perfume,

and one’s day of death is better than his day of birth.

¹A good name is finer than good ointment, and the day of one’s death than the day he was born.

²It is better to enter a house of mourning

than a house of feasting,

since death is the end of every man,

and the living should take this to heart.

²Better to go to a house of mourning than to go to a house of feasting, for this is the end of all men, and the one living will give it to his heart.

³Sorrow is better than laughter,

for a sad countenance is good for the heart.

³Better is sorrow than laughter, for by the sadness of the face, the heart is made good.

⁴The heart of the wise is in the house of mourning,

but the heart of fools is in the house of pleasure.

⁴The heart of the wise is in a house of mourning, and the heart of fools is in a house of gladness.

⁵It is better to heed a wise man’s rebuke

than to listen to the song of fools.

⁵Better to hear the rebuke of a wise one, than hearing a song of fools.

⁶For like the crackling of thorns under the pot,

so is the laughter of the fool. This too is futile.

⁶For like the sound of thorns under the pot, so is the laughter of the fool; and also this is vapor.

⁷Surely extortion turns a wise man into a fool,

and a bribe corrupts the heart.

⁷Surely oppression drives a wise one to madness, and a bribe destroys the heart.

⁸The end of a matter is better than the beginning,

and a patient spirit is better than a proud one.

⁸Better the end of a thing than its beginning; better one long of spirit than one high of spirit.

⁹Do not be quickly provoked in your spirit,

for anger settles in the lap of a fool.^a

⁹Do not hurry in your spirit to become angry, for anger rests in the bosom of fools.

¹⁰Do not say, “Why were the old days better than these?”

For it is unwise of you to ask about this.

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, like an inheritance, is good,

and it benefits those who see the sun.

¹¹Wisdom is good, with an inheritance, and profitable for those seeing the sun.

¹²For wisdom, like money, is a shelter,

and the advantage of knowledge

is that wisdom preserves the life of its owner.

¹²For in the shadow of wisdom is as in the shadow of silver, and the advantage of knowledge is that wisdom keeps alive her owners.

¹³Consider the work of God:

Who can straighten what He has bent?

¹³See the work of God, for who is able to make straight what He has made crooked?

¹⁴In the day of prosperity, be joyful,

but in the day of adversity, consider this:

God has made one of these along with the other,

so that a man cannot discover

anything that will come after him.

¹⁴In a day of prosperity, be in gladness, and in a day of evil, see also: This as well as this, God has made, for the reason that man cannot find out anything after him.

The Limits of Human Wisdom

¹⁵In my futile life I have seen both of these:

A righteous man perishing in his righteousness,

and a wicked man living long in his wickedness.

¹⁵All I have seen in the days of my vapor: There is a righteous one perishing in his righteousness, and there is a wicked one living long in his wickedness.

¹⁶Do not be overly righteous, and do not make yourself too wise. Why should you destroy yourself?

¹⁶Do not be overly righteous, and not overly wise yourself—why should you be desolate?

¹⁷Do not be excessively wicked, and do not be a fool. Why should you die before your time?

¹⁷Do not be overly wicked, and do not be a fool—why should you die in what is not your time?

¹⁸It is good to grasp the one and not let the other slip from your hand. For he who fears God will follow both warnings.^a

¹⁸It is good that you should take hold of this, and also not loosen your hand from this; for the one who fears God will go forth from them all.

¹⁹Wisdom makes the wise man

stronger than ten rulers in a city.

¹⁹Wisdom gives more strength to the wise one than ten rulers who are in a city.

²⁰Surely there is no righteous man on earth

who does good and never sins.

²⁰For there is not a righteous man on the earth who does good and does not sin.

²¹Do not pay attention to every word that is spoken, or you may hear your servant cursing you.

²¹Also, for all words that they might speak, do not give your heart, that you may not hear your servant belittling you.

²²For you know in your heart that many times you yourself have cursed others.

²²For many times also your own heart has known that you also have belitted others.

²³All this I tested by wisdom, saying, “I resolve to be wise.” But it was beyond me.

²³All this I have tested by wisdom; I have said, “I shall be wise,” and it was far from me.

²⁴What exists is out of reach and very deep. Who can fathom it?

²⁴Far off is that which has been, and very deep—who can find it out?

²⁵I directed my mind to understand, to explore, to search out wisdom and explanations, and to understand the stupidity of wickedness and the folly of madness.

²⁵I also turned my heart to know, and to search out, and to seek wisdom and reason, and to know the evil of foolishness and the folly of madness.

²⁶And I find more bitter than death the woman who is a snare, whose heart is a net, and whose hands are chains. The man who pleases God escapes her, but the sinner is ensnared.

²⁶And I am finding more bitter than death the woman who, she is a snare and her heart is a net; her hands are bonds; The one who is good before the face of God escapes from her, and the one sinning will be captured by her.

²⁷“Behold,” says the Teacher, “I have discovered this by adding one thing to another to find an explanation.

²⁷Behold, this I have found, says Qoheleth, one to one to find out the reason—

²⁸While my soul was still searching but not finding, among a thousand I have found one upright man, but among all these I have not found one such woman.

²⁸that which my soul still has sought, and I have not found: One man from a thousand have I found, and a woman among all these I have not found.

²⁹Only this have I found: I have discovered that God made mankind upright, but they have sought out many schemes.”

²⁹See, this alone I have found: That God made man upright, and they have sought out many schemes.