Ecclesiastes 7:1–14
7 A good name is better than fine perfume,u
and the day of death better than the day of birth.v
2 It is better to go to a house of mourning
than to go to a house of feasting,
for deathw is the destinyx of everyone;
the living should take this to heart.
3 Frustration is better than laughter,y
because a sad face is good for the heart.
4 The heart of the wise is in the house of mourning,
but the heart of fools is in the house of pleasure.z
5 It is better to heed the rebukea of a wise person
than to listen to the song of fools.
6 Like the crackling of thornsb under the pot,
so is the laughterc of fools.
This too is meaningless.
7 Extortion turns a wise person into a fool,
and a bribed corrupts the heart.
8 The end of a matter is better than its beginning,
and patiencee is better than pride.
9 Do not be quickly provokedf in your spirit,
for anger resides in the lap of fools.g
10 Do not say, “Why were the old daysh better than these?”
For it is not wise to ask such questions.
11 Wisdom, like an inheritance, is a good thingi
and benefits those who see the sun.j
as money is a shelter,
but the advantage of knowledge is this:
Wisdom preserves those who have it.
13 Consider what God has done:k
Who can straighten
what he has made crooked?l
14 When times are good, be happy;
but when times are bad, consider this:
God has made the one
as well as the other.m
Therefore, no one can discover
anything about their future.