Chapter 7
1 A good name is better than fine perfume; and the day of death better 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 should take this to heart .
3 Sorrow is better than laughter ; for by the sadness of the face 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 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 .
7 Surely extortion makes the wise man foolish ; and a bribe destroys the understanding .
8 Better is the end of a thing than its beginning . The patient in spirit is better than the proud in spirit .
9 Don’t be hasty in your spirit to be angry , for anger rests in the bosom of fools .
10 Don’t say, " Why were the former days better than these ?" For you do not ask wisely about this .
11 Wisdom is as good as an inheritance . Yes , it is more excellent for those who see the sun .
12 For wisdom is a defence , even as money is a defence ; but the excellency of knowledge is that wisdom preserves the life of him who has it .
13 Consider the work of God , for who can make that straight which he has made crooked ?
14 In the day of prosperity be joyful , and in the day of adversity consider ; yes , God has made the one side by side with the other , to the end that man should not find out anything after him .
15 All this I have seen in my days of vanity : there is a righteous man who perishes in his righteousness , and there is a wicked man who lives long in his evildoing.
16 Don’t be overly righteous , neither make yourself overly wise . Why should you destroy yourself?
17 Don’t be too wicked , neither be foolish . Why should you die before your time ?
18 It is good that you should take hold of this . Yes , also don’t withdraw your hand from that ; for he who fears God will come out of them all .
19 Wisdom is a strength to the wise man more than ten rulers who are in a city .
20 Surely there is not a righteous man on earth who does good and doesn’t sin .
21 Also don’t take heed to all words that are spoken , lest you hear your servant curse you ;
22 for often your own heart knows that you yourself have likewise cursed others .
23 All this I have proved in wisdom . I said, " I will be wise ;" but it was far from me .
24 That which is , is far off and exceedingly deep . Who can find it out ?
25 I turned around , and my heart sought to know and to search out , and to seek wisdom and the scheme of things, and to know that wickedness is stupidity, and that foolishness is madness .
26 I find more bitter than death the woman whose heart is snares and traps, whose hands are chains. Whoever pleases God shall escape from her ; but the sinner will be ensnared by her .
27 " Behold , I have found this ," says the Preacher , " to one another , to find an explanation
28 which my soul still seeks , but I have not found . I have found one man amongst a thousand, but I have not found a woman amongst all those .
29 Behold , I have only found this : that God made mankind upright ; but they search for many inventions ."