Ecclesiastes 7 — The Holy Bible

The Value of Wisdom

A good name is better than good olive oil,

And the day of one's death

Than the day of one's birth.

It is better to go to the house of mourning

Than to go to the house of drinking,

For this is the end of every man;

And the living will take it to heart.

Sorrow is better than laughter,

For by a sad countenance the heart is made better.

The heart of the wise is in the house of mourning,

But the heart of senseless men is in the house of merriment.

It is better to hear the rebuke of a wise man

Than for a man to hear the song of senseless men.

For like the crackling of thorns under a pot,

So is the laughter of senseless men.

This also is vanity.

Oppression makes a learned man dizzy

And destroys his vigorous heart.

The end of matters is better than their beginning,

And a patient man is better than one haughty in spirit.

Do not be hasty in your spirit to be angry,

For anger rests in the bosom of senseless men.

Do not say, “Why were the former days better than these?”

For you do not inquire wisely concerning this.

Wisdom is good with an inheritance,

And profitable to those who see the sun.

For wisdom in its shadow is as the shadow of silver,

But the abundance of the knowledge of wisdom

Will give life to him who has it.

Behold the works of God,

For who can put in order him

Whom God made crooked?

In the day of what is good, live in that goodness,

But in the day of trouble, consider also

That God made one harmonious with the other,

That a man may not find out anything

That will come after him.

I saw everything in my days of vanity:

There is a righteous man

Who perishes in his righteousness,

And there is an ungodly man

Who remains alive in his vice.

Do not be overly righteous,

Nor be overly wise,

Lest you be confounded.

Do not be very ungodly,

Nor be hardened,

Lest you die before your time.

It is good that you lay hold of this

And do not let your hand let go of it:

For the one who fears God, all things will turn out well.

Wisdom will help the wise

More than ten rulers in the city.

For there is not a righteous man on earth

Who does good and does not sin.

Also do not take to heart all the words people say,

Lest you hear your servant cursing you.

For very often he will act in an evil manner against you,

And many times he will afflict your heart,

Just as you have cursed others.

I proved all this by wisdom.

I said, “I will be wise,”

But it was far from me.

As for what is far off and exceedingly deep,

Who will find it out?

I and my heart went about to know,

And to search and seek out wisdom

And the account of things,

And to know the foolishness, hardness, and madness

Of the ungodly man.

I find more bitter than death

The woman who is a snare and her heart a net;

And her hands are her chains.

A man who is good in the sight of God will escape from her,

But the sinner will be caught by her.

“Behold, I found this,” says the Preacher,

“Adding one thing to the other to find out the reason,

Which my soul still seeks, but cannot find:

I found one man among a thousand,

But a woman among all these, I have not found.

Except behold, I found this,

That God makes man upright,

But they have sought out many schemes.”