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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© 1999, 2000, 2002, 2003, 2009 by Holman Bible Publishers, Nashville, Tennessee. All rights reserved.
Ecclesiastes 7
7
Good Advice About How to Live
1A good name is better than fine perfume.
People can learn more from mourning when someone dies
than from being happy when someone is born.
2So it’s better to go where people are mourning
than to go where people are having a good time.
Everyone will die someday.
Those who are still living
should really think about that.
3Not being able to figure things out is better than laughter.
That’s because sorrow is good for the heart.
4Those who are wise are found where there is sorrow.
But foolish people are found where there is pleasure.
5Pay attention to a wise person’s warning.
That’s better than listening to the songs of those who are foolish.
6A foolish person’s laughter
is like the crackling of thorns burning under a pot.
That doesn’t have any meaning either.
7When a wise person takes wealth by force, they become foolish.
It is sinful to take money from people who want special favors.
8The end of a matter is better than its beginning.
So it’s better to be patient than proud.
9Don’t become angry quickly.
Anger lives in the hearts of foolish people.
10Don’t say, “Why were things better in the good old days?”
It isn’t wise to ask that kind of question.
11Wisdom is a good thing.
It’s like getting a share of the family wealth.
It benefits those who live on this earth.
12Wisdom provides safety,
just as money provides safety.
But here’s the advantage of wisdom.
It guards those who have it.
13Think about what God has done.
Who can make straight
what he has made crooked?
14When times are good, be happy.
But when times are bad, here’s something to think about.
God has made bad times.
He has also made good times.
So no one can find out anything
about what’s ahead for them.
15In my meaningless life here’s what I’ve seen.
I’ve seen godly people dying
even though they are godly.
And I’ve seen sinful people living a long time
even though they are sinful.
16Don’t claim to be better than you are.
And don’t claim to be wiser than you are.
Why destroy yourself?
17Don’t be too sinful.
And don’t be foolish.
Why die before your time comes?
18It’s good to hold on to both of those things.
Don’t let go of either one.
Whoever has respect for God will avoid
going too far in either direction.
19Wisdom makes one wise person more powerful
than ten rulers in a city.
20It is true that there isn’t anyone on earth
who does only what is right and never sins.
21Don’t pay attention to everything people say.
If you do, you might hear your servant cursing you.
22Many times you yourself have cursed others.
Deep down inside, you know that’s true.
23I used wisdom to test all these things. I said,
“I’ve made up my mind to be wise.”
But it was more than I could accomplish.
24Whatever exists is far away and very deep.
Who can find it?
25So I tried to understand wisdom more completely.
I wanted to study it and figure it out.
I tried to find out everything I could about it.
I tried to understand why it’s foolish to be evil.
I wanted to see why choosing foolishness is so unwise.
26A woman who hunts a man down
is more painful than death.
Her heart is like a trap.
Her hands are like chains.
A man who pleases God will try to get away from her.
But she will trap a sinner.
27“Look,” says the Teacher. “Here’s what I’ve discovered.
“I added one thing to another to find out
everything I could about wisdom.
28I searched and searched
but found very little.
I did find one honest man among a thousand.
But I didn’t find one honest woman among a thousand.
29Here’s the only other thing I found.
God created human beings as honest.
But they’ve made many evil plans.”
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