Ecclesiastes 7:1–22

Good Advice About How to Live

7A good name is better than fine perfume.

People can learn more from sobbing when someone dies

than from being happy when someone is born.

²So it’s better to go where people are sobbing

than to go where people are having a good time.

Everyone will die someday.

Those who are still living

should really think about that.

³Sadness is good for the heart.

That’s why sorrow is better than laughter.

⁴Those who are wise are found where there is sorrow.

But foolish people are found where there is pleasure.

⁵Pay attention to a wise man’s warning.

That’s better than listening to the songs of those who are foolish.

⁶A foolish person’s laughter

is like the crackling of thorns burning under a pot.

That doesn’t have any meaning either.

⁷When a wise man takes wealth by force, he becomes foolish.

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

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

So it’s better to be patient than proud.

⁹Don’t become angry quickly.

Anger lives in the hearts of foolish people.

¹⁰Don’t say, “Why were things better in the good old days?”

It isn’t wise to ask that kind of question.

¹¹Wisdom is a good thing.

It’s like getting a share of the family wealth.

It benefits those who live on this earth.

¹²Wisdom provides safety,

just as money provides safety.

But here’s the advantage of wisdom.

It guards the lives of those who have it.

¹³Think about what God has done.

Who can make straight

what he has made crooked?

¹⁴When times are good, be happy.

But when times are bad, here’s something to think about.

God has made bad times.

He has also made good times.

So a man can’t find out anything

about what’s ahead for him.

¹⁵In my meaningless life here’s what I’ve seen.

I’ve seen a godly man dying

even though he is godly.

And I’ve seen a sinful man living a long time

even though he is sinful.

¹⁶Don’t claim to be better than you are.

And don’t claim to be wiser than you are.

Why destroy yourself?

¹⁷Don’t be too sinful.

And don’t be foolish.

Why die before your time comes?

¹⁸It’s good to hold on to both of those things.

Don’t let go of either one.

A man who has respect for God will avoid

going too far in either direction.

¹⁹Wisdom makes one wise man more powerful

than ten rulers in a city.

²⁰There isn’t anyone on earth

who does only what is right and never sins.

²¹Don’t pay attention to everything people say.

If you do, you might hear your servant calling down a curse on you.

²²Many times you yourself have called down curses on others.

Deep down inside, you know that’s true.