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

A ^agood name is better than a good ointment,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 man,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 manThan 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 man mad,And a ^bbribe ¹corrupts the heart.8 The ^aend of a matter is better than its beginning;^bPatience of spirit is better than haughtiness of spirit.9 Do not be ¹^aeager in your heart to be angry,For anger resides 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 ¹protection just as money is ²protection,But the advantage of knowledge is that ^bwisdom preserves the lives of its possessors.13 Consider the ^awork of God,For who is ^bable to straighten what He has bent?14 ^aIn the day of prosperity be happy,But ^bin the day of adversity consider—God has made the one as well as the otherSo that man will ^cnot discover anything that will be after him.

15 I have seen everything during my ¹^alifetime of futility; there is ^ba righteous man who perishes in his righteousness and there is ^ca wicked man 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 a fool. Why should you ^adie before your time? 18 It is good that you grasp 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 rulers 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 ¹take seriously all words which are spoken, so that you will not hear your servant ^acursing you. 22 For ¹you also have realized 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 remote and ^aexceedingly ¹mysterious. ^bWho can discover it? 25 I ¹^adirected my ²mind to know, to investigate and to seek wisdom and an explanation, and to know the evil of folly and the foolishness of madness. 26 And I discovered 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, “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 men upright, but they have sought out many devices.”