| New King James Version | Berean Study Bible |
| 1A good name is better than precious ointment, And the day of death than the day of one’s birth; | 1A good name is better than fine perfume, and one’s day of death is better than his day of birth. |
| 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 heart. | 2It is better to enter a house of mourning than a house of feasting, since death is the end of every man, and the living should take this to heart. |
| 3Sorrow is better than laughter, For by a sad countenance the heart is made better. | 3Sorrow is better than laughter, for a sad countenance is good for the heart. |
| 4The heart of the wise is in the house of mourning, But the heart of fools is in the house of mirth. | 4The heart of the wise is in the house of mourning, but the heart of fools is in the house of pleasure. |
| 5It is better to hear the rebuke of the wise Than for a man to hear the song of fools. | 5It is better to heed a wise man’s rebuke than to listen to the song of fools. |
| 6For like the crackling of thorns under a pot, So is the laughter of the fool. This also is vanity. | 6For like the crackling of thorns under the pot, so is the laughter of the fool. This too is futile. |
| 7Surely oppression destroys a wise man’s reason, And a bribe debases the heart. | 7Surely extortion turns a wise man into a fool, and a bribe corrupts the heart. |
| 8The end of a thing is better than its beginning; The patient in spirit is better than the proud in spirit. | 8The end of a matter is better than the beginning, and a patient spirit is better than a proud one. |
| 9Do not hasten in your spirit to be angry, For anger rests in the bosom of fools. | 9Do not be quickly provoked in your spirit, for anger settles in the lap of a fool. |
| 10Do not say, “Why were the former days better than these?” For you do not inquire wisely concerning this. | 10Do not say, “Why were the old days better than these?” For it is unwise of you to ask about this. |
| 11Wisdom is good with an inheritance, And profitable to those who see the sun. | 11Wisdom, like an inheritance, is good, and it benefits those who see the sun. |
| 12For wisdom is a defense as money is a defense, But the excellence of knowledge is that wisdom gives life to those who have it. | 12For wisdom, like money, is a shelter, and the advantage of knowledge is that wisdom preserves the life of its owner. |
| 13Consider the work of God; For who can make straight what He has made crooked? | 13Consider the work of God: Who can straighten what He has bent? |
| 14In the day of prosperity be joyful, But in the day of adversity consider: Surely God has appointed the one as well as the other, So that man can find out nothing that will come after him. | 14In the day of prosperity, be joyful, but in the day of adversity, consider this: God has made one of these along with the other, so that a man cannot discover anything that will come after him. |
| 15I have seen everything in my days of vanity: There is a just man who perishes in his righteousness, And there is a wicked man who prolongs life in his wickedness. | 15In my futile life I have seen both of these: A righteous man perishing in his righteousness, and a wicked man living long in his wickedness. |
| 16Do not be overly righteous, Nor be overly wise: Why should you destroy yourself? | 16Do not be overly righteous, and do not make yourself too wise. Why should you destroy yourself? |
| 17Do not be overly wicked, Nor be foolish: Why should you die before your time? | 17Do not be excessively wicked, and do not be a fool. Why should you die before your time? |
| 18It is good that you grasp this, And also not remove your hand from the other; For he who fears God will escape them all. | 18It is good to grasp the one and not let the other slip from your hand. For he who fears God will follow both warnings. |
| 19Wisdom strengthens the wise More than ten rulers of the city. | 19Wisdom makes the wise man stronger than ten rulers in a city. |
| 20For there is not a just man on earth who does good And does not sin. | 20Surely there is no righteous man on earth who does good and never sins. |
| 21Also do not take to heart everything people say, Lest you hear your servant cursing you. | 21Do not pay attention to every word that is spoken, or you may hear your servant cursing you. |
| 22For many times, also, your own heart has known That even you have cursed others. | 22For you know in your heart that many times you yourself have cursed others. |
| 23All this I have proved by wisdom. I said, “I will be wise”; But it was far from me. | 23All this I tested by wisdom, saying, “I resolve to be wise.” But it was beyond me. |
| 24As for that which is far off and exceedingly deep, Who can find it out? | 24What exists is out of reach and very deep. Who can fathom it? |
| 25I applied my heart to know, To search and seek out wisdom and the reason of things, To know the wickedness of folly, Even of foolishness and madness. | 25I directed my mind to understand, to explore, to search out wisdom and explanations, and to understand the stupidity of wickedness and the folly of madness. |
| 26And I find more bitter than death The woman whose heart is snares and nets, Whose hands are fetters. He who pleases God shall escape from her, But the sinner shall be trapped by her. | 26And I find more bitter than death the woman who is a snare, whose heart is a net, and whose hands are chains. The man who pleases God escapes her, but the sinner is ensnared. |
| 27“Here is what I have found,” says the Preacher, “Adding one thing to the other to find out the reason, | 27“Behold,” says the Teacher, “I have discovered this by adding one thing to another to find an explanation. |
| 28Which my soul still seeks but I cannot find: One man among a thousand I have found, But a woman among all these I have not found. | 28While my soul was still searching but not finding, among a thousand I have found one upright man, but among all these I have not found one such woman. |
| 29Truly, this only I have found: That God made man upright, But they have sought out many schemes.” | 29Only this have I found: I have discovered that God made men upright, but they have sought out many schemes.” |
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