Ecclesiastes 7

Some Benefits of Serious Thinking

1It is better to have respect than good perfume.

The day of death is better than the day of birth.

2It is better to go to a funeral

than to a party.

We all must die,

and everyone living should think about this.

3Sorrow is better than laughter,

and sadness has a good influence on you.

4A wise person thinks about death,

but a fool thinks only about having a good time.

5It is better to be criticized by a wise person

than to be praised by a fool.

6The laughter of fools

is like the crackling of thorns in a cooking fire.

Both are useless.

7Even wise people are fools

if they let money change their thinking.

8It is better to finish something

than to start it.

It is better to be patient

than to be proud.

9Don’t become angry quickly,

because getting angry is foolish.

10Don’t ask, “Why was life better in the ‘good old days’?”

It is not wise to ask such questions.

11Wisdom is better when it comes with money.

They both help those who are alive.

12Wisdom is like money:

they both help.

But wisdom is better,

because it can save whoever has it.

13Look at what God has done:

No one can straighten what he has bent.

14When life is good, enjoy it.

But when life is hard, remember:

God gives good times and hard times,

and no one knows what tomorrow will bring.

It Is Impossible to Be Truly Good

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

I have seen good people die in spite of their goodness

and evil people live a long time in spite of their evil.

16Don’t be too right,

and don’t be too wise.

Why destroy yourself?

17Don’t be too wicked,

and don’t be foolish.

Why die before your time?

18It is good to grab the one and not let go of the other;

those who honor God will hold them both.

19Wisdom makes a person stronger

than ten leaders in a city.

20Surely there is not a good person on earth

who always does good and never sins.

21Don’t listen to everything people say,

or you might hear your servant insulting you.

22You know that many times

you have insulted others.

23I used wisdom to test all these things.

I wanted to be wise,

but it was too hard for me.

24I cannot understand why things are as they are.

It is too hard for anyone to understand.

25I studied and tried very hard to find wisdom,

to find some meaning for everything.

I learned that it is foolish to be evil,

and it is crazy to act like a fool.

26I found that some women are worse than death

and are as dangerous as traps.

Their love is like a net,

and their arms hold men like chains.

A man who pleases God will be saved from them,

but a sinner will be caught by them.

27The Teacher says, “This is what I learned:

I added all these things together

to find some meaning for everything.

28While I was searching,

I did not find one man among the thousands I found.

Nor did I find a woman among all these.

29One thing I have learned:

God made people good,

but they have found all kinds of ways to be bad.”

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Ecclesiastes 7: NCV

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Ecclesiastes 7

Wise Sayings

1A good name is better than fine perfume, # Pr 22:1; Ezk 36:21

and the day of one’s death than the day of one’s birth. # Ec 4:2

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. # Ps 90:12

3Grief is better than laughter,

for when a face is sad, a heart may be glad. # Pr 14:13

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, # Pr 13:1

6for like the crackling of burning thorns under the pot, # Ps 58:9; 118:12

so is the laughter of the fool.

This too is futile.

7Surely, the practice of extortion turns a wise person into a fool, # Ec 4:1

and a bribe destroys the mind. # Dt 16:19; Pr 17:8

8The end of a matter is better than its beginning;

a patient spirit is better than a proud spirit. # Pr 14:29

9Don’t let your spirit rush to be angry,

for anger abides in the heart of fools. # Pr 14:17; Jms 1:19

10Don’t say, “Why were the former days better than these? ” # Jdg 6:13

since it is not wise of you to ask this.

11Wisdom is as good as an inheritance

and an advantage to those who see the sun,

12because wisdom is protection as money is protection,

and the advantage of knowledge

is that wisdom preserves the life of its owner. # Pr 3:18

13Consider the work of God, # Ec 3:11

for who can straighten out

what He has made crooked? # Ec 1:15

14In the day of prosperity be joyful, # Ec 3:22 but in the day of adversity, consider: God has made the one as well as the other, # Lm 3:38 so that man cannot discover anything that will come after him.

Avoiding Extremes

15In my futile life # Lit days I have seen everything: # Ec 6:12; 9:9 there is a righteous man who perishes in spite of his righteousness, # Ec 8:14 and there is a wicked man who lives long in spite of his evil. # Ec 8:12-13 16Don’t be excessively righteous, and don’t be overly wise. # Ec 2:15; Rm 12:3 Why should you destroy yourself? 17Don’t be excessively wicked, and don’t be foolish. Why should you die before your time? # Jb 22:16; Ps 55:23; Pr 10:27 18It is good that you grasp the one and do not let the other slip from your hand. For the one who fears God will end up with both of them.

19Wisdom makes the wise man stronger

than ten rulers of a city. # Ec 9:13-18

20There is certainly no righteous man on the earth

who does good and never sins. # 1Kg 8:46; Rm 3:23

21Don’t pay attention # Lit Don’t give your heart to everything people say, or you may hear your servant cursing you, # Pr 30:10 22for you know that many times you yourself have cursed others.

What the Teacher Found

23I have tested all this by wisdom. I resolved, “I will be wise,” but it was beyond me. 24What exists is beyond reach and very deep. # Rm 11:33 Who can discover it? 25I turned my thoughts to know, explore, and seek wisdom # Ec 1:15,17 and an explanation for things, and to know that wickedness is stupidity and folly is madness. 26And I find more bitter than death # Pr 5:4 the woman who is a trap, # Pr 6:25 her heart a net, and her hands chains. The one who pleases God will escape her, but the sinner will be captured by her. 27“Look,” says the Teacher, “I have discovered this by adding one thing to another to find out the explanation, 28which my soul continually searches for but does not find: among a thousand people I have found one true man, but among all these I have not found a true woman. # 1Kg 11:3 29Only see this: I have discovered that God made people upright, # Gn 1:27 but they pursued many schemes.”

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