Ecc 7 | NASB1995 | STEP | 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 .

‏ Ecclesiastes 7

Wisdom and Folly Contrasted

1 A ^agood name is better than a good ointment,
And the ^bday 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 ^{▼▼ I.e. death}that is the ^dend of every man,
And the living ^{▼▼ Lit gives
,} ^ftakes it to ^{▼▼ Lit his heart}heart.
3 ^hSorrow is better than laughter,
For ⁱwhen a face is sad a heart may be happy.
4 The ^{▼▼ Lit heart}mind of the wise is in the house of mourning,
While the ^{▼▼ Lit heart}mind of fools is in the house of pleasure.
5 It is better to ^llisten to the rebuke of a wise man
Than for one to listen to the song of fools.
6 For as the ^{▼▼ Lit voice}crackling of ⁿthorn bushes under a pot,
So is the ^olaughter of the fool;
And this too is futility.
7 For ^poppression makes a wise man mad,
And a ^qbribe ^{▼▼ Lit destroys}corrupts the heart.
8 The ^send of a matter is better than its beginning;
^tPatience of spirit is better than haughtiness of spirit.
9 Do not be ^{▼▼ Lit hasty in your spirit
,} ^veager in your heart to be angry,
For anger resides in the bosom of fools.
10 Do not say, “Why is it that the former days were better than these?”
For it is not from wisdom that you ask about this.
11 Wisdom along with an inheritance is good
And an ^wadvantage to those who see the sun.
12 For ^xwisdom is ^{▼▼ Lit in a shadow}protection just as money is ^{▼▼ Lit in a shadow}protection,
But the advantage of knowledge is that ^aawisdom preserves the lives of its possessors.
13 Consider the ^abwork of God,
For who is ^acable to straighten what He has bent?
14 ^adIn the day of prosperity be happy,
But ^aein the day of adversity consider—
God has made the one as well as the other
So that man will ^afnot discover anything that will be after him.

15 I have seen everything during my ^{▼▼ Lit days
,} ^ahlifetime of futility; there is ^aia righteous man who perishes in his righteousness and there is ^aja wicked man who prolongs his life in his wickedness. 16 Do not be excessively ^akrighteous and do not ^albe overly wise. Why should you ruin yourself? 17 Do not be excessively wicked and do not be a fool. Why should you ^amdie before your time? 18 It is good that you grasp one thing and also not ^{▼▼ Lit rest your hand}let go of the other; for the one who ^aofears God comes forth with ^{▼▼ Lit all}both of them.

19 ^aqWisdom strengthens a wise man more than ten rulers who are in a city. 20 Indeed, ^arthere is not a righteous man on earth who continually does good and who never sins. 21 Also, do not ^{▼▼ Lit give your heart to}take seriously all words which are spoken, so that you will not hear your servant ^atcursing you. 22 For ^{▼▼ Lit your heart knows also}you also have realized that you likewise have many times cursed others.

23 I tested all this with wisdom, and I said, “I will be wise,” ^avbut it was far from me. 24 What has been is remote and ^awexceedingly ^{▼▼ Lit deep}mysterious. ^ayWho can discover it? 25 I ^{▼▼ Lit turned about
,} ^badirected my ^{▼▼ Lit heart}mind to know, to investigate and to seek wisdom and an explanation, and to know the evil of folly and the foolishness of madness. 26 And I discovered more ^bcbitter than death the woman whose heart is ^bdsnares and nets, whose hands are chains. ^beOne who is pleasing to God will escape from her, but ^bfthe sinner will be captured by her.

27 “Behold, I have discovered this,” says the Preacher, “adding one thing to another to find an explanation, 28 which ^{▼▼ Lit my soul still seeks}I am still seeking but have not found. I have found one man among a thousand, but I have not found a ^bhwoman among all these. 29 “Behold, I have found only this, that ^biGod made men upright, but they have sought out many devices.”