Ecclesiastes 7:1–12

Don’t Take Anything for Granted

¹7A good reputation is better than a fat bank account.

Your death date tells more than your birth date.

²You learn more at a funeral than at a feast—

After all, that’s where we’ll end up. We might discover something from it.

³Crying is better than laughing.

It blotches the face but it scours the heart.

⁴Sages invest themselves in hurt and grieving.

Fools waste their lives in fun and games.

⁵You’ll get more from the rebuke of a sage

Than from the song and dance of fools.

⁶The giggles of fools are like the crackling of twigs

Under the cooking pot. And like smoke.

⁷Brutality stupefies even the wise

And destroys the strongest heart.

⁸Endings are better than beginnings.

Sticking to it is better than standing out.

⁹Don’t be quick to fly off the handle.

Anger boomerangs. You can spot a fool by the lumps on his head.

¹⁰Don’t always be asking, “Where are the good old days?”

Wise folks don’t ask questions like that.

^11–12Wisdom is better when it’s paired with money,

Especially if you get both while you’re still living.

Double protection: wisdom and wealth!

Plus this bonus: Wisdom energizes its owner.