Ecclesiastes 7:1–12

Wisdom

7A good name is better than fine perfume,^u

and the day of death better than the day of birth.^v

²It is better to go to a house of mourning

than to go to a house of feasting,

for death^w is the destiny^x of everyone;

the living should take this to heart.

³Frustration is better than laughter,^y

because a sad face is good for the heart.

⁴The heart of the wise is in the house of mourning,

but the heart of fools is in the house of pleasure.^z

⁵It is better to heed the rebuke^a of a wise person

than to listen to the song of fools.

⁶Like the crackling of thorns^b under the pot,

so is the laughter^c of fools.

This too is meaningless.

⁷Extortion turns a wise person into a fool,

and a bribe^d corrupts the heart.

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

and patience^e is better than pride.

⁹Do not be quickly provoked^f in your spirit,

for anger resides in the lap of fools.^g

¹⁰Do not say, “Why were the old days^h better than these?”

For it is not wise to ask such questions.

¹¹Wisdom, like an inheritance, is a good thingⁱ

and benefits those who see the sun.^j

¹²Wisdom is a shelter

as money is a shelter,

but the advantage of knowledge is this:

Wisdom preserves those who have it.