Ecclesiastes 7–8

Chapter 7

Wisdom for Life

¹A good reputation is more valuable than costly perfume.

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

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

After all, everyone dies—

so the living should take this to heart.

³Sorrow is better than laughter,

for sadness has a refining influence on us.

⁴A wise person thinks a lot about death,

while a fool thinks only about having a good time.

⁵Better to be criticized by a wise person

than to be praised by a fool.

⁶A fool’s laughter is quickly gone,

like thorns crackling in a fire.

This also is meaningless.

⁷Extortion turns wise people into fools,

and bribes corrupt the heart.

⁸Finishing is better than starting.

Patience is better than pride.

⁹Control your temper,

for anger labels you a fool.

¹⁰Don’t long for “the good old days.”

This is not wise.

¹¹Wisdom is even better when you have money.

Both are a benefit as you go through life.

¹²Wisdom and money can get you almost anything,

but only wisdom can save your life.

¹³Accept the way God does things,

for who can straighten what he has made crooked?

¹⁴Enjoy prosperity while you can,

but when hard times strike, realize that both come from God.

Remember that nothing is certain in this life.

The Limits of Human Wisdom

¹⁵I have seen everything in this meaningless life, including the death of good young people and the long life of wicked people. ¹⁶So don’t be too good or too wise! Why destroy yourself? ¹⁷On the other hand, don’t be too wicked either. Don’t be a fool! Why die before your time? ¹⁸Pay attention to these instructions, for anyone who fears God will avoid both extremes.

¹⁹One wise person is stronger than ten leading citizens of a town!

²⁰Not a single person on earth is always good and never sins.

²¹Don’t eavesdrop on others—you may hear your servant curse you. ²²For you know how often you yourself have cursed others.

²³I have always tried my best to let wisdom guide my thoughts and actions. I said to myself, “I am determined to be wise.” But it didn’t work. ²⁴Wisdom is always distant and difficult to find. ²⁵I searched everywhere, determined to find wisdom and to understand the reason for things. I was determined to prove to myself that wickedness is stupid and that foolishness is madness.

²⁶I discovered that a seductive woman is a trap more bitter than death. Her passion is a snare, and her soft hands are chains. Those who are pleasing to God will escape her, but sinners will be caught in her snare.

²⁷“This is my conclusion,” says the Teacher. “I discovered this after looking at the matter from every possible angle. ²⁸Though I have searched repeatedly, I have not found what I was looking for. Only one out of a thousand men is virtuous, but not one woman! ²⁹But I did find this: God created people to be virtuous, but they have each turned to follow their own downward path.”

Chapter 8

¹How wonderful to be wise,

to analyze and interpret things.

Wisdom lights up a person’s face,

softening its harshness.

Obedience to the King

²Obey the king since you vowed to God that you would. ³Don’t try to avoid doing your duty, and don’t stand with those who plot evil, for the king can do whatever he wants. ⁴His command is backed by great power. No one can resist or question it. ⁵Those who obey him will not be punished. Those who are wise will find a time and a way to do what is right, ⁶for there is a time and a way for everything, even when a person is in trouble.

⁷Indeed, how can people avoid what they don’t know is going to happen? ⁸None of us can hold back our spirit from departing. None of us has the power to prevent the day of our death. There is no escaping that obligation, that dark battle. And in the face of death, wickedness will certainly not rescue the wicked.

The Wicked and the Righteous

⁹I have thought deeply about all that goes on here under the sun, where people have the power to hurt each other. ¹⁰I have seen wicked people buried with honor. Yet they were the very ones who frequented the Temple and are now praised in the same city where they committed their crimes! This, too, is meaningless. ¹¹When a crime is not punished quickly, people feel it is safe to do wrong. ¹²But even though a person sins a hundred times and still lives a long time, I know that those who fear God will be better off. ¹³The wicked will not prosper, for they do not fear God. Their days will never grow long like the evening shadows.

¹⁴And this is not all that is meaningless in our world. In this life, good people are often treated as though they were wicked, and wicked people are often treated as though they were good. This is so meaningless!

¹⁵So I recommend having fun, because there is nothing better for people in this world than to eat, drink, and enjoy life. That way they will experience some happiness along with all the hard work God gives them under the sun.

¹⁶In my search for wisdom and in my observation of people’s burdens here on earth, I discovered that there is ceaseless activity, day and night. ¹⁷I realized that no one can discover everything God is doing under the sun. Not even the wisest people discover everything, no matter what they claim.