VerseAI

NIV

Ecclesiastes 7

  1. 1<pb/><t>A good name is better than fine perfume,</t> <t>and the day of death better than the day of birth.</t>
  2. 2<t>It is better to go to a house of mourning</t> <t>than to go to a house of feasting,</t> <t>for death is the destiny of everyone;</t> <t>the living should take this to heart.</t>
  3. 3<t>Frustration is better than laughter,</t> <t>because a sad face is good for the heart.</t>
  4. 4<t>The heart of the wise is in the house of mourning,</t> <t>but the heart of fools is in the house of pleasure.</t>
  5. 5<t>It is better to heed the rebuke of a wise person</t> <t>than to listen to the song of fools.</t>
  6. 6<t>Like the crackling of thorns under the pot,</t> <t>so is the laughter of fools.</t> <t>This too is meaningless. <pb/></t>
  7. 7<t>Extortion turns a wise person into a fool,</t> <t>and a bribe corrupts the heart. <pb/></t>
  8. 8<t>The end of a matter is better than its beginning,</t> <t>and patience is better than pride.</t>
  9. 9<t>Do not be quickly provoked in your spirit,</t> <t>for anger resides in the lap of fools. <pb/></t>
  10. 10<t>Do not say, “Why were the old days better than these?”</t> <t>For it is not wise to ask such questions. <pb/></t>
  11. 11<t>Wisdom, like an inheritance, is a good thing</t> <t>and benefits those who see the sun.</t>
  12. 12<t>Wisdom is a shelter</t> <t>as money is a shelter,</t> <t>but the advantage of knowledge is this:</t> <t>Wisdom preserves those who have it.</t>
  13. 13<pb/>Consider what God has done: <pb/><t>Who can straighten</t> <t>what he has made crooked?</t>
  14. 14<t>When times are good, be happy;</t> <t>but when times are bad, consider this:</t> <t>God has made the one</t> <t>as well as the other.</t> <t>Therefore, no one can discover</t> <t>anything about their future.</t>
  15. 15<pb/>In this meaningless life of mine I have seen both of these: <pb/><t>the righteous perishing in their righteousness,</t> <t>and the wicked living long in their wickedness.</t>
  16. 16<t>Do not be overrighteous,</t> <t>neither be overwise—</t> <t>why destroy yourself?</t>
  17. 17<t>Do not be overwicked,</t> <t>and do not be a fool—</t> <t>why die before your time?</t>
  18. 18<t>It is good to grasp the one</t> <t>and not let go of the other.</t> <t>Whoever fears God will avoid all extremes.<f>[7]</f> <pb/></t>
  19. 19<t>Wisdom makes one wise person more powerful</t> <t>than ten rulers in a city. <pb/></t>
  20. 20<t>Indeed, there is no one on earth who is righteous,</t> <t>no one who does what is right and never sins. <pb/></t>
  21. 21<t>Do not pay attention to every word people say,</t> <t>or you may hear your servant cursing you—</t>
  22. 22<t>for you know in your heart</t> <t>that many times you yourself have cursed others.</t>
  23. 23<pb/>All this I tested by wisdom and I said, <pb/><t>“I am determined to be wise”—</t> <t>but this was beyond me.</t>
  24. 24<t>Whatever exists is far off and most profound—</t> <t>who can discover it?</t>
  25. 25<t>So I turned my mind to understand,</t> <t>to investigate and to search out wisdom and the scheme of things</t> <t>and to understand the stupidity of wickedness</t> <t>and the madness of folly. <pb/></t>
  26. 26<t>I find more bitter than death</t> <t>the woman who is a snare,</t> <t>whose heart is a trap</t> <t>and whose hands are chains.</t> <t>The man who pleases God will escape her,</t> <t>but the sinner she will ensnare.</t>
  27. 27<pb/>“Look,” says the Teacher,<f>[8]</f> “this is what I have discovered: <pb/><t>“Adding one thing to another to discover the scheme of things—</t>
  28. 28<t>while I was still searching</t> <t>but not finding—</t> <t>I found one upright man among a thousand,</t> <t>but not one upright woman among them all.</t>
  29. 29<t>This only have I found:</t> <t>God created mankind upright,</t> <t>but they have gone in search of many schemes.”</t>