Ecclesiastes 7
7
Some Benefits of Serious Thinking
1It is better to have respect than good perfume.
The day a person dies is better than the day he was born.
2It is better to go to a funeral
than to a party.
We all must die.
Everyone living should think about this.
3Sorrow is better than laughter.
Sadness has a good influence on you.
4A wise man thinks about death,
but a foolish person thinks only about having a good time.
5It is better to be criticized by a wise man
than to be praised by a foolish person.
6The laughter of foolish people is useless.
It is like heating a pot by burning straw.
There is a lot of fire but no heat.
7Even a wise man will become foolish
if he lets money change his thinking.
8It is better to finish something
than to start it.
It is better to be patient
than to be proud.
9Don’t become mad 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 as good to have as inheriting property.
It helps people see what to do.
12Wisdom is like money.
They both help a person.
But wisdom is better than money,
because it can save a person’s life.
13Stop and think about everything that God causes to happen.
You cannot change a thing,
even if you think it is wrong.
14When life is good, enjoy it.
But when life is hard, remember:
God gives us good times and hard times.
And no one knows what tomorrow will bring.
It Is Impossible to Be Truly Good
15In my short life I have seen both of these:
I have seen good men die being good.
And I have seen evil men living a long time.
16Don’t try to be too right all the time.
Don’t try to be too wise, either.
Why should you destroy yourself this way?
17Don’t be too wicked.
And don’t be a foolish person.
You will die young if you do so.
18Try to avoid going too far in doing anything.
Those who honor God will avoid doing too much of anything.
19Wisdom gives a person strength.
One wise man is stronger than ten leaders in a city.
20Surely there is not a good man on earth
who always does good and never sins.
21Don’t listen to everything people say.
You might hear your servant insulting you.
22You know that many times
you also 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.
I tried 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.
They are as dangerous as traps.
Their love is like a net.
Their arms hold men like chains.
A man who follows God will run away 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 see if I could find some meaning for everything.
28I am still looking for it,
but I have not found it.
But I did discover that truly good people are hard to find.
Such people are one in a million!
29One thing I have learned:
God made people good.
But people have found all kinds of ways to be bad.”
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Ecclesiastes 7: ICB
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Ecclesiastes 7
7
Wisdom
1A good name is better than fine perfume,
and the day of death better than the day of birth.
2It is better to go to a house of mourning
than to go to a house of feasting,
for death is the destiny of everyone;
the living should take this to heart.
3Frustration is better than laughter,
because a sad face is good for the heart.
4The heart of the wise is in the house of mourning,
but the heart of fools is in the house of pleasure.
5It is better to heed the rebuke of a wise person
than to listen to the song of fools.
6Like the crackling of thorns under the pot,
so is the laughter of fools.
This too is meaningless.
7Extortion turns a wise person into a fool,
and a bribe corrupts the heart.
8The end of a matter is better than its beginning,
and patience is better than pride.
9Do not be quickly provoked in your spirit,
for anger resides in the lap of fools.
10Do not say, “Why were the old days better than these?”
For it is not wise to ask such questions.
11Wisdom, like an inheritance, is a good thing
and benefits those who see the sun.
12Wisdom is a shelter
as money is a shelter,
but the advantage of knowledge is this:
Wisdom preserves those who have it.
13Consider what God has done:
Who can straighten
what he has made crooked?
14When times are good, be happy;
but when times are bad, consider this:
God has made the one
as well as the other.
Therefore, no one can discover
anything about their future.
15In this meaningless life of mine I have seen both of these:
the righteous perishing in their righteousness,
and the wicked living long in their wickedness.
16Do not be overrighteous,
neither be overwise—
why destroy yourself?
17Do not be overwicked,
and do not be a fool—
why die before your time?
18It is good to grasp the one
and not let go of the other.
Whoever fears God will avoid all extremes.#7:18 Or will follow them both
19Wisdom makes one wise person more powerful
than ten rulers in a city.
20Indeed, there is no one on earth who is righteous,
no one who does what is right and never sins.
21Do not pay attention to every word people say,
or you may hear your servant cursing you—
22for you know in your heart
that many times you yourself have cursed others.
23All this I tested by wisdom and I said,
“I am determined to be wise”—
but this was beyond me.
24Whatever exists is far off and most profound—
who can discover it?
25So I turned my mind to understand,
to investigate and to search out wisdom and the scheme of things
and to understand the stupidity of wickedness
and the madness of folly.
26I find more bitter than death
the woman who is a snare,
whose heart is a trap
and whose hands are chains.
The man who pleases God will escape her,
but the sinner she will ensnare.
27“Look,” says the Teacher,#7:27 Or the leader of the assembly “this is what I have discovered:
“Adding one thing to another to discover the scheme of things—
28while I was still searching
but not finding—
I found one upright man among a thousand,
but not one upright woman among them all.
29This only have I found:
God created mankind upright,
but they have gone in search of many schemes.”
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The Holy Bible, New International Version® NIV®
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