1 A good name is better than precious ointment,

and the day of death than the day of birth.

2 It is better to go to the house of mourning

than to go to the house of feasting,

for this is the end of all mankind,

and the living will lay it to heart.

3 Sorrow is better than laughter,

for by sadness of face the heart is made glad.

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

but the heart of fools is in the house of mirth.

5 It is better for a man to hear the rebuke of the wise

than to hear the song of fools.

6 For as the crackling of thorns under a pot,

so is the laughter of the fools;

this also is vanity.

1 A good name is better than precious ointment; and the day of death than the day of one’s birth. 2 It is better to go to the house of mourning, than to go to the house of feasting: for that is the end of all men; and the living will lay it to his heart. 3 Sorrow is better than laughter: for by the sadness of the countenance the heart is made better. 4 The heart of the wise is in the house of mourning; but the heart of fools is in the house of mirth. 5 It is better to hear the rebuke of the wise, than for a man to hear the song of fools. 6 For as the crackling of thorns under a pot, so is the laughter of the fool: this also is vanity.

1 A good reputation is more valuable than costly perfume.

And the day you die is better than the day you are born.

2 Better to spend your time at funerals than at parties.

After all, everyone dies—

so the living should take this to heart.

3 Sorrow is better than laughter,

for sadness has a refining influence on us.

4 A wise person thinks a lot about death,

while a fool thinks only about having a good time.

5 Better to be criticized by a wise person

than to be praised by a fool.

6 A fool’s laughter is quickly gone,

like thorns crackling in a fire.

This also is meaningless.

1 A good name is better than precious ointment,

And the day of death than the day of one’s birth;

2 Better to go to the house of mourning

Than to go to the house of feasting,

For that is the end of all men;

And the living will take it to heart.

3 Sorrow is better than laughter,

For by a sad countenance the heart is made better.

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

But the heart of fools is in the house of mirth.

5 It is better to hear the rebuke of the wise

Than for a man to hear the song of fools.

6 For like the crackling of thorns under a pot,

So is the laughter of the fool.

This also is vanity.

1 It is better to have respect than good perfume.

The day of death is better than the day of birth.

2 It is better to go to a funeral

than to a party.

We all must die,

and everyone living should think about this.

3 Sorrow is better than laughter,

and sadness has a good influence on you.

4 A wise person thinks about death,

but a fool thinks only about having a good time.

5 It is better to be criticized by a wise person

than to be praised by a fool.

6 The laughter of fools

is like the crackling of thorns in a cooking fire.

Both are useless.

1 A good name is better than precious oil; and the day of death, than the day of one’s birth. 2 It is better to go to the house of mourning than to go to the house of feasting: for that is the end of all men; and the living will lay it to his heart. 3 Sorrow is better than laughter; for by the sadness of the countenance the heart is made glad. 4 The heart of the wise is in the house of mourning; but the heart of fools is in the house of mirth.

5 It is better to hear the rebuke of the wise, than for a man to hear the song of fools. 6 For as the crackling of thorns under a pot, so is the laughter of the fool: this also is vanity.

1 A good name is better than precious ointment, and the day of death than the day of one’s birth. 2 It is better to go to the house of mourning than to go to the house of feasting: in that that is the end of all men, and the living taketh it to heart. 3 Vexation is better than laughter; for by the sadness of the countenance the heart is made better. 4 The heart of the wise is in the house of mourning, but the heart of fools in the house of mirth. 5 It is better for a man to hear the rebuke of the wise, than to hear the song of fools. 6 For as the crackling of thorns under a pot, so is the laughter of the fool. This also is vanity.

1 A good name is better than expensive perfume, and the day you die is better than the day you’re born. 2 It is better to go to a funeral than to a banquet because that is where everyone will end up. Everyone who is alive should take this to heart! 3 Sorrow is better than laughter because, in spite of a sad face, the heart can be joyful. 4 The minds of wise people think about funerals, but the minds of fools think about banquets. 

5 It is better to listen to wise people who reprimand you than to fools who sing your praises. 6 The laughter of a fool is like the crackling of thorns burning under a pot. Even this is pointless. 

1 A good name is better than fine perfume,

and the day of one’s death than the day of one’s birth.

2 It is better to go to a house of mourning

than to go to a house of feasting,

since that is the end of all mankind,

and the living should take it to heart.

3 Grief is better than laughter,

for when a face is sad, a heart may be glad.

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

but the heart of fools is in a house of pleasure.

5 It is better to listen to rebuke from a wise person

than to listen to the song of fools,

6 for like the crackling of burning thorns under the pot,

so is the laughter of the fool.

This too is futile.

1 A good name is better than precious ointment,

and the day of death, than the day of birth.

2 It is better to go to the house of mourning

than to go to the house of feasting;

for this is the end of everyone,

and the living will lay it to heart.

3 Sorrow is better than laughter,

for by sadness of countenance the heart is made glad.

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

but the heart of fools is in the house of mirth.

5 It is better to hear the rebuke of the wise

than to hear the song of fools.

6 For like the crackling of thorns under a pot,

so is the laughter of fools;

this also is vanity.

1 A good name is better than precious ointment,

and the day of death is better than the day of one’s birth.

2 Better to go to the house of mourning

than to go to the house of feasting,

for death is the end of every person,

and the living should take it to his heart.

3 Sorrow is better than laughter,

for by sadness of countenance the heart is made good.

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

but the heart of fools is in the house of mirth.

5 Better to listen to the rebuke of the wise

than for a man to listen to the song of fools.

6 Like the sound of thorns under a pot,

so also the laughter of fools.

This also is vanity!

1 A good name is better than fine perfume.

People can learn more from sobbing when someone dies

than from being happy when someone is born.

2 So 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.

3 Sadness is good for the heart.

That’s why sorrow is better than laughter.

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

But foolish people are found where there is pleasure.

5 Pay attention to a wise man’s warning.

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

6 A foolish person’s laughter

is like the crackling of thorns burning under a pot.

That doesn’t have any meaning either.

1 A good name is better than a good ointment,

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

2 It is better to go to a house of mourning

Than to go to a house of feasting,

Because that is the end of every man,

And the living takes it to heart.

3 Sorrow is better than laughter,

For when a face is sad a heart may be happy.

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

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

5 It is better to listen to the rebuke of a wise man

Than for one to listen to the song of fools.

6 For as the crackling of thorn bushes under a pot,

So is the laughter of the fool;

And this too is futility.