Ecclesiastes 7:1–22

People Generally Do Not Know What is Best for Them

7A good name is better than precious ointment,

and the day of death is better than the day of one’s birth.

²Better to go to the house of mourning

than to go to the house of feasting,

for death is the end of every person,

and the living should take it to his heart.

³Sorrow is better than laughter,

for by sadness of countenance the heart is made good.

⁴The heart of the wise is in the house of mourning,

but the heart of fools is in the house of mirth.

⁵Better to listen to the rebuke of the wise

than for a man to listen to the song of fools.

⁶Like the sound of thorns under a pot,

so also the laughter of fools.

This also is vanity!

Wisdom—Although Vulnerable—is Beneficial

⁷Surely oppression makes a fool of the wise,

and a bribe corrupts the heart.

⁸The end of a matter is better than its beginning;

better to be slow to anger than hot-headed.^a

⁹Do not be quick in your spirit to anger,

for anger lodges in the bosom of fools.

¹⁰Do not say, “Why were the former days better than these?”

For it is not from wisdom that you ask this.

¹¹Wisdom is good with an inheritance;

it benefits the living.^b

¹²For wisdom offers protection like money offers protection.^c

But knowledge has an advantage—wisdom restores life to its possessor.

Humans Must Accept God’s Will and Make the Best of It

¹³Consider the work of God.

For who is able to make straight what he made crooked?

¹⁴In the day of prosperity, rejoice!

But in the day of adversity, consider!

For God made one in place of another

so that mortals cannot find out what will happen in the future.^d

The Law of Retribution Does Not Always Work—but It Does Sometimes

¹⁵I have seen all these things in my vain life:

Sometimes a righteous man perishes in spite of his righteousness,

and sometimes a wicked man lives a long life in spite of his evil.

¹⁶Do not be excessively^e righteous,

and do not act excessively wise, lest you destroy yourself.

¹⁷Do not act excessively wicked,

and do not be a fool, lest you die before your time.

¹⁸It is good to take hold of the one and also must not let go of the other;

for whoever fears God will hold both of them secure.

Wisdom is Valuable, but No One is Completely Righteous

¹⁹Wisdom gives more strength to the wise

than ten rulers who are in the city.

²⁰Surely there is no one righteous on the earth

who continually does good and never sins.

²¹Do not pay attention to everything people say,

lest you hear your own servant curse you.

²²For your heart knows

that you also have cursed others many times.