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.”
Currently Selected:
Ecclesiastes 7: HCSB
Highlight
Share
Copy
Want to have your highlights saved across all your devices? Sign up or sign in
© 1999, 2000, 2002, 2003, 2009 by Holman Bible Publishers, Nashville, Tennessee. All rights reserved.
Ecclesiastes 7
7
Wisdom is better than wealth
1A good name is better than fine oil,
and the day of death better than the birthday.
2It is better to go to a house in mourning
than to a house party,
because that is everyone’s destiny;
and the living should take it to heart.
3Aggravation is better than merriment
because a sad face may lead to a glad heart.
4The wise heart is in the house that mourns,
but the foolish heart is in the house that rejoices.
5It is better to obey the reprimand of the wise
than to listen to the song of fools,
6because the fool’s merriment
is like nettles crackling under a kettle.
That too is pointless.
7Oppression turns the wise into fools;
a bribe corrupts the heart.
8The end of something is better than its beginning.
Patience is better than arrogance.
9Don’t be too quick to get angry
because anger lives in the fool’s heart.
10Don’t ask, “How is it that the former days were better than these?”
because it isn’t wise to ask this.
11Wisdom is as good as#7.11 Or Wisdom is good with an inheritance—
an advantage for those who see the sun.
12Wisdom’s protection is like the protection of money;
the advantage of knowledge is that wisdom preserves the lives of its possessors.
Good times and bad
13Consider God’s work! Who can straighten what God has made crooked? 14When times are good, enjoy the good; when times are bad, consider: God has made the former as well as the latter so that people can’t discover anything that will come to be after them.
15I have seen everything in my pointless lifetime: the righteous person may die in spite of their righteousness; then again, the wicked may live long in spite of their wickedness. 16Don’t be too righteous or too wise, or you may be dumbfounded.#7.16 Or destroyed 17Don’t be too wicked and don’t be a fool, or you may die before your time. 18It’s good that you take hold of one of these without letting go of the other because the one who fears God will go forth with both.
19Wisdom makes a wise person stronger than ten rulers who are in a city. 20Remember: there’s no one on earth so righteous as to do good only and never make a mistake.#7.20 Or and never sin 21Don’t worry about all the things people say, so you don’t hear your servant cursing you. 22After all, you know that you’ve often cursed others yourself!
Life is complicated
23I tested all of this by wisdom. I thought, I will be wise, but it eluded me.
24All that happens is elusive and utterly unfathomable. Who can grasp it? 25I turned my mind to know, to investigate, and to seek wisdom, along with an account of things, to know that wickedness is foolishness and folly is madness.
26I found one woman more bitter than death: she who is a trap, her heart a snare, her hands shackles. Anyone who pleases God escapes her, but a sinner is trapped by her. 27See, this is what I found, says the Teacher, examining one matter after another to account for things. 28But there’s something that I constantly searched for but couldn’t find: I found one man among a thousand, but I couldn’t find a woman among any of these.#7.28 Heb uncertain
29See, this alone I found: God made human beings straightforward, but they search for many complications.
Currently Selected:
:
Highlight
Share
Copy
Want to have your highlights saved across all your devices? Sign up or sign in
2011 Common English Bible. All rights reserved.