Ecclesiastes 7:1–12

The Value of Practical Wisdom

7A ^agood name is better than precious ointment,

And the day of death than the day of one’s ^bbirth;

²Better 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 ^cheart.

³¹Sorrow is better than laughter,

^dFor by a sad countenance the heart is made ²better.

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

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

^5eIt is better to ³hear the rebuke of the wise

Than for a man to hear the song of fools.

^6fFor like the ⁴crackling of thorns under a pot,

So is the laughter of the fool.

This also is vanity.

⁷Surely oppression destroys a wise man’s reason,

^gAnd a bribe ⁵debases the heart.

⁸The end of a thing is better than its beginning;

^hThe patient in spirit is better than the proud in spirit.

⁹ⁱDo not hasten in your spirit to be angry,

For anger rests in the bosom of fools.

¹⁰Do not say,

“Why were the former days better than these?”

For you do not inquire wisely concerning this.

¹¹Wisdom is good with an inheritance,

And profitable ^jto those who see the sun.

¹²For wisdom is ⁶a ^kdefense as money is a defense,

But the ⁷excellence of knowledge is that wisdom gives ^llife to those who have it.