Online Bible

Wisdom and Foolishness Contrasted

A ^agood name is better than good ¹oil,And the ^bday of one’s death is better than the day of one’s birth.2 It is better to go to a house of mourningThan to go to a house of feasting,Because ¹that is the ^aend of every person,And the living ²^btakes it to ³heart.3 ^aSorrow is better than laughter,For ^bwhen a face is sad a heart may be happy.4 The ¹mind of the wise is in the house of mourning,While the ²mind of fools is in the house of pleasure.5 It is better to ^alisten to the rebuke of a wise personThan for one to listen to the song of fools.6 For as the ¹crackling of ^athorn bushes under a pot,So is the ^blaughter of the fool;And this too is futility.7 For ^aoppression makes a wise person look foolish,And a ^bbribe ¹corrupts the heart.8 The ^aend of a matter is better than its beginning;^bPatience of spirit is better than arrogance of spirit.9 Do not be ¹^aeager in your spirit to be angry,For anger resides in the ²heart 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 good,And an ^aadvantage to those who see the sun.12 For ^awisdom is ¹protection just as money is ²protection,But the advantage of knowledge is that ^bwisdom keeps its possessors alive.13 Consider the ^awork of God,For who is ^bable to straighten what He has bent?14 ^aOn the day of prosperity be happy,But ^bon the day of adversity consider:God has made the one as well as the otherSo that a person will ^cnot discover anything that will come after him.

15 I have seen everything during my ¹^alifetime of futility; there is ^ba righteous person who perishes in his righteousness, and there is ^ca wicked person who prolongs his life in his wickedness. 16 Do not be excessively ^arighteous, and do not ^bbe overly wise. Why should you ruin yourself? 17 Do not be excessively wicked, and do not be foolish. Why should you ^adie ¹before your time? 18 It is good that you grasp one thing while not ¹letting go of the other; for one who ^afears God comes out with ²both of them.

19 ^aWisdom strengthens a wise person more than ten rulers who are in a city. 20 Indeed, ^athere is not a righteous person on earth who always does good and does not ever sin. 21 Also, do not ¹take seriously all the words which are spoken, so that you do not hear your servant ^acursing you, 22 for ¹you know that even you have cursed others many times as well.

23 I tested all this with wisdom, and I said, “I will be wise,” ^abut wisdom was far from me. 24 What has been is remote and ^avery ¹mysterious. ^bWho can discover it? 25 I ¹^adirected my ²mind to know and to investigate, and to seek wisdom and an explanation, and to know the evil of foolishness and the foolishness of insanity. 26 And I discovered as more ^abitter than death the woman whose heart is ^bsnares and nets, whose hands are chains. ^cOne who is pleasing to God will escape from her, but ^dthe sinner will be captured by her.

27 “Behold, I have discovered this,” says the Preacher, “by adding one thing to another to find an explanation, 28 which ¹I am still seeking but have not found. I have found one man among a thousand, but I have not found a ^awoman among all these. 29 Behold, I have found only this, that ^aGod made people upright, but they have sought out many schemes.”

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.”