Ecclesiastes 7:1–12

Wisdom and Folly Contrasted

¹A ^agood name is better than a good ointment,

And the ^bday of one’s death is better than the day of one’s birth.

²It is better to go to a house of mourning

Than to go to a house of feasting,

Because ¹that is the ^aend of every man,

And the living ^2btakes it to ³heart.

^3aSorrow is better than laughter,

For ^bwhen a face is sad a heart may be happy.

⁴The ¹mind of the wise is in the house of mourning,

While the mind of fools is in the house of pleasure.

⁵It is better to ^alisten to the rebuke of a wise man

Than for one to listen to the song of fools.

⁶For as the ¹crackling of ^athorn bushes under a pot,

So is the ^blaughter of the fool;

And this too is futility.

⁷For ^aoppression makes a wise man mad,

And a ^bbribe ¹corrupts the heart.

⁸The ^aend of a matter is better than its beginning;

^bPatience of spirit is better than haughtiness of spirit.

⁹Do not be ^1aeager in your heart to be angry,

For anger resides in the bosom of fools.

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

For it is not from wisdom that you ask about this.

¹¹Wisdom along with an inheritance is good

And an ^aadvantage to those who see the sun.

¹²For ^awisdom is ¹protection just as money is protection,

But the advantage of knowledge is that ^bwisdom preserves the lives of its possessors.