| Eccl. 7:1 |
A good name is better than precious ointment, / And the day of death, than the day of one's birth. |
| Eccl. 7:2 |
It is better to go to the house of mourning / Than to go to the house of feasting, / Because that is the end of every man, / And the living takes it to heart. |
| Eccl. 7:3 |
Sorrow is better than laughter, / For by the sadness of face the heart is made good. |
| Eccl. 7:4 |
The heart of the wise is in the house of mourning, / But the heart of fools is in the house of mirth. |
| Eccl. 7:5 |
It is better [for one] to hear the rebuke of a wise man / Than for one to hear the song of fools. |
| Eccl. 7:6 |
For as the crackling of thorns under a pot, / So is the laughter of fools. / This also is vanity. |
| Eccl. 7:7 |
Surely oppression makes a wise man mad, / And a bribe destroys the heart. |
| Eccl. 7:8 |
Better is the end of a thing than its beginning; / Better is patience of spirit than haughtiness of spirit. |
| Eccl. 7:9 |
Do not be quick in your spirit to become angry, / For anger rests in the bosom of fools. |
| Eccl. 7:10 |
Do not say, How is it that the former days were better than these? / For it is not from wisdom that you ask this. |
| Eccl. 7:11 |
Wisdom is as good as an inheritance, / And an advantage to those who see the sun. |
| Eccl. 7:12 |
For wisdom is a defense, as money is a defense; / But the advantage of knowledge is that wisdom preserves the life of those / who have it. |
| Eccl. 7:13 |
Consider the work of God, / For who can straighten what He has made crooked? |
| Eccl. 7:14 |
In 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 man may not find out anything about what is after him. |
| Eccl. 7:15 |
I have seen everything in my days of vanity: There is a righteous man who perishes in his righteousness, and there is a wicked man who prolongs [his life] in his wickedness. |
| Eccl. 7:16 |
Do not be overly righteous, and do not be overly wise; why should you destroy yourself? |
| Eccl. 7:17 |
Do not be overly wicked, and do not be a fool; why should you die when it is not your time? |
| Eccl. 7:18 |
It is better for you to take hold of the one without letting go of the other, for he who fears God will come out [of it] with them all. |
| Eccl. 7:19 |
Wisdom strengthens the wise man more than ten rulers who are in a city. |
| Eccl. 7:20 |
Surely there is not a righteous man on the earth who does good and does not sin. |
| Eccl. 7:21 |
Also, do not give heed to all words spoken, lest you hear your servant cursing you. |
| Eccl. 7:22 |
For your heart knows that many times you yourself have cursed others also. |
| Eccl. 7:23 |
All this I have tested by wisdom; I said, I will be wise; but it was far from me. |
| Eccl. 7:24 |
That which is, is far off, and deep, very deep; who can find it out? |
| Eccl. 7:25 |
I turned and my heart [was set] to know and to search and seek out wisdom and the sum [of things,] and to know that wickedness is folly and that foolishness is madness. |
| Eccl. 7:26 |
And I found more bitter than death the woman whose heart is traps and snares, whose hands are fetters. One who is well-pleasing to God escapes from her, but the sinner is taken by her. |
| Eccl. 7:27 |
See, this is what I have found, says the Preacher, [adding] one thing to another to find the sum, |
| Eccl. 7:28 |
Which my soul is still seeking but has not found. One man among a thousand I have found, but a woman among all these I have not found. |
| Eccl. 7:29 |
See, this alone have I found, that God made man upright, but they have sought out many schemes. |