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Ecclesiastes 7:7–8

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.

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Ecclesiastes 7:7–8 — The New International Version (NIV)

Extortion turns a wise person into a fool,

and a bribe corrupts the heart.

The end of a matter is better than its beginning,

and patience is better than pride.

Ecclesiastes 7:7–8 — English Standard Version (ESV)

Surely oppression drives the wise into madness,

and a bribe corrupts the heart.

Better is the end of a thing than its beginning,

and the patient in spirit is better than the proud in spirit.

Ecclesiastes 7:7–8 — King James Version (KJV 1900)

Surely oppression maketh a wise man mad; and a gift destroyeth the heart. Better is the end of a thing than the beginning thereof: and the patient in spirit is better than the proud in spirit.

Ecclesiastes 7:7–8 — New Living Translation (NLT)

Extortion turns wise people into fools,

and bribes corrupt the heart.

Finishing is better than starting.

Patience is better than pride.

Ecclesiastes 7:7–8 — The New King James Version (NKJV)

Surely oppression destroys a wise man’s reason,

And a bribe debases the heart.

The end of a thing is better than its beginning;

The patient in spirit is better than the proud in spirit.

Ecclesiastes 7:7–8 — New Century Version (NCV)

Even wise people are fools

if they let money change their thinking.

It is better to finish something

than to start it.

It is better to be patient

than to be proud.

Ecclesiastes 7:7–8 — American Standard Version (ASV)

Surely extortion maketh the wise man foolish; and a bribe destroyeth the understanding.

Better is the end of a thing than the beginning thereof; and the patient in spirit is better than the proud in spirit.

Ecclesiastes 7:7–8 — 1890 Darby Bible (DARBY)

Surely oppression maketh a wise man mad, and a gift destroyeth the heart. Better is the end of a thing than its beginning; better is a patient spirit than a proud spirit.

Ecclesiastes 7:7–8 — GOD’S WORD Translation (GW)

Oppression can turn a wise person into a fool, and a bribe can corrupt the mind. 

The end of something is better than its beginning. It is better to be patient than arrogant. 

Ecclesiastes 7:7–8 — The Holman Christian Standard Bible (HCSB)

Surely, the practice of extortion turns a wise person into a fool,

and a bribe destroys the mind.

The end of a matter is better than its beginning;

a patient spirit is better than a proud spirit.

Ecclesiastes 7:7–8 — The New Revised Standard Version (NRSV)

Surely oppression makes the wise foolish,

and a bribe corrupts the heart.

Better is the end of a thing than its beginning;

the patient in spirit are better than the proud in spirit.

Ecclesiastes 7:7–8 — The Lexham English Bible (LEB)

Surely oppression makes a fool of the wise,

and a bribe corrupts the heart.

The end of a matter is better than its beginning;

better to be slow to anger than hot-headed.

Ecclesiastes 7:7–8 — New International Reader’s Version (1998) (NIrV)

When a wise man takes wealth by force, he becomes foolish.

It is sinful to take money from people who want special favors.

The end of a matter is better than its beginning.

So it’s better to be patient than proud.


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