Ecclesiastes 7
7
A Disillusioned View of Life
1A good name is better than precious ointment,
and the day of death, than the day of birth.
2It is better to go to the house of mourning
than to go to the house of feasting;
for this is the end of everyone,
and the living will lay it to heart.
3Sorrow is better than laughter,
for by sadness of countenance the heart is made glad.
4The heart of the wise is in the house of mourning;
but the heart of fools is in the house of mirth.
5It is better to hear the rebuke of the wise
than to hear the song of fools.
6For like the crackling of thorns under a pot,
so is the laughter of fools;
this also is vanity.
7Surely oppression makes the wise foolish,
and a bribe corrupts the heart.
8Better is the end of a thing than its beginning;
the patient in spirit are better than the proud in spirit.
9Do not be quick to anger,
for anger lodges in the bosom of fools.
10Do not say, “Why were the former days better than these?”
For it is not from wisdom that you ask this.
11Wisdom is as good as an inheritance,
an advantage to those who see the sun.
12For the protection of wisdom is like the protection of money,
and the advantage of knowledge is that wisdom gives life to the one who possesses it.
13Consider the work of God;
who can make straight what he has made crooked?
14In the day of prosperity be joyful, and in the day of adversity consider; God has made the one as well as the other, so that mortals may not find out anything that will come after them.
The Riddles of Life
15In my vain life I have seen everything; there are righteous people who perish in their righteousness, and there are wicked people who prolong their life in their evildoing. 16Do not be too righteous, and do not act too wise; why should you destroy yourself? 17Do not be too wicked, and do not be a fool; why should you die before your time? 18It is good that you should take hold of the one, without letting go of the other; for the one who fears God shall succeed with both.
19Wisdom gives strength to the wise more than ten rulers that are in a city.
20Surely there is no one on earth so righteous as to do good without ever sinning.
21Do not give heed to everything that people say, or you may hear your servant cursing you; 22your heart knows that many times you have yourself cursed others.
23All this I have tested by wisdom; I said, “I will be wise,” but it was far from me. 24That which is, is far off, and deep, very deep; who can find it out? 25I turned my mind to know and to search out and to seek wisdom and the sum of things, and to know that wickedness is folly and that foolishness is madness. 26I found more bitter than death the woman who is a trap, whose heart is snares and nets, whose hands are fetters; one who pleases God escapes her, but the sinner is taken by her. 27See, this is what I found, says the Teacher,#7.27 Qoheleth, traditionally rendered Preacher adding one thing to another to find the sum, 28which my mind has sought repeatedly, but I have not found. One man among a thousand I found, but a woman among all these I have not found. 29See, this alone I found, that God made human beings straightforward, but they have devised many schemes.
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Ecclesiastes 7: NRSV-CI
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New Revised Standard Version of the Bible, copyright © 1989 Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the USA. Used by permission. 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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