Online Bible

Wisdom and Folly Contrasted

Better is a ^agood name than good oil,And better is the ^bday of one’s death than the day of one’s birth.2 Better to go to a house of mourningThan to go to a house of feastingBecause ¹that is the ^aend of all mankind,And the living ^bputs this in his heart.3 ^aBetter is vexation than laughter,For ^bwhen a face is sad a heart may be merry.4 The heart of the wise is in the house of mourning,While the heart of fools is in the house of gladness.5 Better to ^alisten to the rebuke of a wise manThan for one to listen to the song of fools.6 For as the crackling sound of ^athorn bushes under a pot,So is the ^blaughter of the fool;And this too is vanity.7 For ^aoppression gives a wise man over to madness,And a ^bbribe ¹destroys the heart.8 Better is the ^aend of a matter than its beginning;^bBetter is patience of spirit than haughtiness of spirit.9 Do not be ¹^aeager in your spirit to be vexed,For vexation rests in the bosom of fools.10 Do not say, “Why is it that the former days were better than these?”For it is not from wisdom that you ask about this.11 Wisdom along with an inheritance is goodAnd an ^aadvantage to those who see the sun.12 For ^awisdom is a ^bshadow of protection as money is a shadow of protection,And the advantage of knowledge is that ^cwisdom preserves the lives of its masters.13 See the ^awork of God,For who is ^bable to straighten what He has bent?14 ^aIn the day when there is good be of good cheer,But ^bin the day when there is evil see—God has made the one as well as the otherSo that man will ^cnot find out anything that will be after him.

15 I have seen everything during my ^adays of vanity; there is ^ba righteous man who perishes in his righteousness, and there is ^ca wicked man who prolongs his life in his evildoing. 16 Do not be excessively ^arighteous, and do not ^bbe overly wise. Why should you make yourself desolate? 17 Do not be excessively wicked, and do not be a simpleminded fool. Why should you ^adie before your time? 18 It is good that you seize one thing and also not ¹let go of the other; for the one who ^afears God comes forth with ²both of them.

19 ^aWisdom strengthens a wise man more than ten men with power who are in a city. 20 Indeed, ^athere is not a righteous man on earth who continually does good and who never sins. 21 Also, do not give your heart to all words which are spoken, so that you will not hear your slave ^acursing you. 22 For your heart also knows that you likewise have many times cursed others.

23 I tested all this with wisdom, and I said, “I will be wise,” ^abut it was far from me. 24 What has been is far away and ^aexceedingly deep. ^bWho can find it? 25 I ^aturned my heart to know, to explore, and to seek wisdom and an explanation, and to know the wickedness of foolishness and the simpleminded folly of madness. 26 And I found more ^abitter than death the woman whose heart is ^bsnares and nets, whose hands are chains. ^cOne who is good before God will escape from her, but ^dthe sinner will be captured by her.

27 “See, I have found this,” says the Preacher, “adding one thing to another to find an explanation, 28 which my soul still seeks but has not found. I have found one man out of a thousand, but I have not found a ^awoman among all these. 29 See, I have found only this, that ^aGod made men upright, but they have sought out many devices.”

Wisdom and Folly Contrasted

A ^agood name is better than precious perfume,And the ^bday of one’s death better than the day of one’s birth.2 It is better to go to the house of mourningThan to go to the house of feasting,For that day of death is the ^aend of every man,And the living will ^btake it to heart and solemnly ponder its meaning.3 ^aSorrow is better than laughter,For ^bwhen a face is sad (deep in thought) the heart may be happy because it is growing in wisdom. 2+@Cor 7:104 The heart of the wise learns when it is in the house of mourning,But the heart of fools is senseless in the house of pleasure.5 It is better to ^alisten to the rebuke of the wise man and pursue wisdomThan for one to listen to the song of fools and pursue stupidity.6 For like the crackling of burning ^athorn bushes under a pot,So is the ^blaughter of the fool;And this too is vanity (futility) .7 For ^aoppression makes a wise man foolish,And a ^bbribe corrupts the good judgment of the heart.8 The ^aend of a matter is better than its beginning;^bPatience of spirit is better than haughtiness of spirit (pride) .9 Do not be ^aeager in your heart to be angry,For anger dwells in the heart of fools. James 1:19, 2010 Do not say, “Why were the old days better than these?”For it is not from wisdom that you ask about this.11 Wisdom along with an inheritance is goodAnd an ^aexcellent advantage for those who see the sun.12 For ^awisdom is a protection even as money is a protection,But the excellent advantage of knowledge is that ^bwisdom shields and preserves the lives of its possessors.13 Consider the ^awork of God:Who ^bcan make straight what He has bent?14 ^aIn the day of prosperity be joyful,But ^bin the day of adversity consider thatGod has made the one as well as the other,So that man will ^cnot find out anything that will be after him.

15 I have seen everything during my fleeting ^adays of futility; there is a ^brighteous man who perishes in spite of his righteousness, and there is ^ca wicked man who ¹lives a long life in spite of his wickedness. 16 Do not be excessively ^arighteous like those given to self-conceit, and do not ^bbe overly wise (pretentious)—why should you bring yourself to ruin? 17 Do not be excessively or willfully wicked and do not be a fool. Why should you ^adie before your time? 18 It is good that you take hold of one thing (righteousness) and also not let go of the other (wisdom) ; for the one who ^afears and worships God with awe-filled reverence will come forth with both of them.

19 ^aWisdom strengthens the wise man more than ten rulers who are in a city. Ps 127:1; 2+@Tim 3:15 20 Indeed, ^athere is not a righteous man on earth who always does good and who never sins. Is 53:6; Rom 3:23 21 Also, do not take seriously everything that is said, so that you will not hear your servant ^acursing you, 22 for you also know that you too have cursed others many times.

23 I have tested all this with wisdom. I said, “I will be wise independently of God,” ^abut true wisdom was far from me. 24 Whatever has been is far off, deeply remote and ^aexceedingly mysterious. ^bWho can discover it for it is beyond the grasp of man? Job 28:12-28; 1+@Cor 2:9-16 25 I ^aturned around and directed my heart to know, to investigate and to seek skillful and godly wisdom and the reason for things, and to know that wickedness is folly and that foolishness is madness leading to stupidity and recklessness. 26 And I discovered that of all irrational sins none has been so destructive in beguiling one away from God as immoral women for more ^abitter than death is the woman whose heart is composed of ^bsnares and nets, and whose hands are chains. ^cWhoever pleases God will escape from her, but ^dthe sinner will be taken captive by her evil.

27 “Behold, I have discovered this,” says the Preacher, “while adding one thing to another to find an explanation, 28 which I am still seeking but have not found. I have found one ¹man among a thousand who pleases God, but I have not found such a ^awoman among all these a thousand in my harem. 1+@Kin 11:3 29 Behold, I have found only this as a reason: ^aGod made man upright and uncorrupted, but they both men and women have sought out many devices for evil.”