| [an error occurred while processing this directive] | International Standard Version |
| 1[an error occurred while processing this directive] | 1A good name exceeds the value of fine perfume, and the day of someone's death exceeds the value of the day of his birth. |
| 2[an error occurred while processing this directive] | 2It's better to attend a funeral than to attend a banquet, for everyone dies eventually, and the living will take this to heart. |
| 3[an error occurred while processing this directive] | 3Sorrow is better than laughter, because the heart is made better through trouble. |
| 4[an error occurred while processing this directive] | 4For the wise person thinks carefully when in mourning, but fools focus their thoughts on pleasure. |
| 5[an error occurred while processing this directive] | 5It is better to listen to a wise person's rebuke than to listen to the praise of fools. |
| 6[an error occurred while processing this directive] | 6For as thorns burn to heat a pot, so also is the laughter of the fool— even this is pointless. |
| 7[an error occurred while processing this directive] | 7Unjust gain makes the wise foolish, and a bribe corrupts the heart. |
| 8[an error occurred while processing this directive] | 8The conclusion of something is better than its beginning, and a patient attitude is more valuable than a proud one. |
| 9[an error occurred while processing this directive] | 9Never be in a hurry to become internally angry, since anger settles down in the lap of fools. |
| 10[an error occurred while processing this directive] | 10Never ask "Why does the past seem so much better than now?" because this question does not come from wisdom. |
| 11[an error occurred while processing this directive] | 11Wise use of possessions is good; it brings benefit to the living. |
| 12[an error occurred while processing this directive] | 12Indeed, wisdom gives protection, just like money does, but it's better to know that wisdom gives life, to those who have mastered it. |
| 13[an error occurred while processing this directive] | 13Consider the work of God: Who is able to straighten what he has bent? |
| 14[an error occurred while processing this directive] | 14When times are good, be joyful; when times are bad, consider this: God made the one as well as the other, so people won't seek anything outside of his best. |
| 15[an error occurred while processing this directive] | 15I have seen it all during my pointless life: both a righteous person who dies while he is righteous, and a wicked person who lives to an old age, while remaining wicked. |
| 16[an error occurred while processing this directive] | 16Do not be overly righteous, nor be overly wise. Why be self-destructive? |
| 17[an error occurred while processing this directive] | 17Do not excel at wickedness, nor be a fool. Why die before your time? |
| 18[an error occurred while processing this directive] | 18It is good for you to grab hold of this and not let go, because whoever fears God will escape all of these extremes. |
| 19[an error occurred while processing this directive] | 19Wisdom given as strength to a wise person is better than having ten powerful men in the city. |
| 20[an error occurred while processing this directive] | 20For there is not a single righteous man on earth who practices good and does not sin. |
| 21[an error occurred while processing this directive] | 21Don't listen to everything that is spoken— you may hear your servant cursing you, |
| 22[an error occurred while processing this directive] | 22since you also know how often you have cursed others. |
| 23[an error occurred while processing this directive] | 23I used my wisdom to test all of this. I said, "I want to be wise," but it was beyond me. |
| 24[an error occurred while processing this directive] | 24Whatever it is, it's far off and most profound. Who can attain it? |
| 25[an error occurred while processing this directive] | 25I committed myself to understand, to learn, to search for wisdom and explanations, and to understand both the evil that is foolishness and the stupidity that is delusion. |
| 26[an error occurred while processing this directive] | 26I discovered for myself a bitterness that surpasses that of death: the woman whose heart is full of snares and nets, whose hands are chains of bondage. Whoever pleases God will escape from her, but the transgressor will be trapped by her. |
| 27[an error occurred while processing this directive] | 27"Look at this," says the Teacher. "Linking one thing to another, I reached this conclusion: |
| 28[an error occurred while processing this directive] | 28Among the things I seek but have not found: one man among a thousand I did find, but I have not found one woman to be wise among all these. |
| 29[an error occurred while processing this directive] | 29I have discovered only this: God made human beings for righteousness, but they seek many alternatives." |
| [an error occurred while processing this directive] | The Holy Bible: International Standard Version® Release 2.1 Copyright © 1996-2012 The ISV Foundation
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED INTERNATIONALLY. |
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