Ecclesiastes 7
7
The Value of Practical Wisdom
1A #Prov. 22:1good name is better than precious ointment,
And the day of death than the day of one’s #Eccl. 4:2birth;
2Better to go to the house of mourning
Than to go to the house of feasting,
For that is the end of all men;
And the living will take it to #(Ps. 90:12)heart.
3Sorrow is better than laughter,
#(2 Cor. 7:10)For by a sad countenance the heart is made better.
4The heart of the wise is in the house of mourning,
But the heart of fools is in the house of mirth.
5#Ps. 141:5; (Prov. 13:18; 15:31, 32)It is better to hear the rebuke of the wise
Than for a man to hear the song of fools.
6#Eccl. 2:2For like the crackling of thorns under a pot,
So is the laughter of the fool.
This also is vanity.
7Surely oppression destroys a wise man’s reason,
#Ex. 23:8; Deut. 16:19; (Prov. 17:8, 23)And a bribe debases the heart.
8The end of a thing is better than its beginning;
#Prov. 14:29; Gal. 5:22; Eph. 4:2The patient in spirit is better than the proud in spirit.
9#Prov. 14:17; James 1:19Do not hasten in your spirit to be angry,
For anger rests in the bosom of fools.
10Do not say,
“Why were the former days better than these?”
For you do not inquire wisely concerning this.
11Wisdom is good with an inheritance,
And profitable #Eccl. 11:7to those who see the sun.
12For wisdom is a #Eccl. 9:18defense as money is a defense,
But the excellence of knowledge is that wisdom gives #Prov. 3:18life to those who have it.
13Consider the work of God;
For #Job 12:14who can make straight what He has made crooked?
14#Deut. 28:47In the day of prosperity be joyful,
But in the day of adversity consider:
Surely God has appointed the one as well as the other,
So that man can find out nothing that will come after him.
15I have seen everything in my days of vanity:
#Eccl. 8:12–14There is a just man who perishes in his righteousness,
And there is a wicked man who prolongs life in his wickedness.
16#Prov. 25:16; Phil. 3:6Do not be overly righteous,
#Rom. 12:3Nor be overly wise:
Why should you destroy yourself?
17Do not be overly wicked,
Nor be foolish:
#Job 15:32; Ps. 55:23Why should you die before your time?
18It is good that you grasp this,
And also not remove your hand from the other;
For he who #Eccl. 3:14; 5:7; 8:12, 13fears God will escape them all.
19#Prov. 21:22; Eccl. 9:13–18Wisdom strengthens the wise
More than ten rulers of the city.
20#1 Kin. 8:46; 2 Chr. 6:36; Prov. 20:9; Rom. 3:23; 1 John 1:8For there is not a just man on earth who does good
And does not sin.
21Also do not take to heart everything people say,
Lest you hear your servant cursing you.
22For many times, also, your own heart has known
That even you have cursed others.
23All this I have proved by wisdom.
#Rom. 1:22I said, “I will be wise”;
But it was far from me.
24#Job 28:12; 1 Tim. 6:16As for that which is far off and #Rom. 11:33exceedingly deep,
Who can find it out?
25#Eccl. 1:17I applied my heart to know,
To search and seek out wisdom and the reason of things,
To know the wickedness of folly,
Even of foolishness and madness.
26#Prov. 5:3, 4And I find more bitter than death
The woman whose heart is snares and nets,
Whose hands are fetters.
He who pleases God shall escape from her,
But the sinner shall be trapped by her.
27Here is what I have found,” says #Eccl. 1:1, 2the Preacher,
“Adding one thing to the other to find out the reason,
28Which my soul still seeks but I cannot find:
#Job 33:23One man among a thousand I have found,
But a woman among all these I have not found.
29Truly, this only I have found:
#Gen. 1:27That God made man upright,
But #Gen. 3:6, 7they have sought out many schemes.”
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Ecclesiastes 7: NKJV
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The Holy Bible, New King James Version, Copyright © 1982 Thomas Nelson. All rights reserved.
Ecclesiastes 7
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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