| New King James Version | Holman Christian Standard 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 the day of one's death than the day of one's 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 go to a house of mourning than to go to a house of feasting, since that is the end of all mankind, and the living should take it to heart. |
| 3Sorrow is better than laughter, For by a sad countenance the heart is made better. | 3Grief is better than laughter, for when a face is sad, a heart may be glad. |
| 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 a house of mourning, but the heart of fools is in a 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 listen to rebuke from a wise person 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 burning 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, the practice of extortion turns a wise person into a fool, and a bribe destroys the mind. |
| 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 its beginning; a patient spirit is better than a proud spirit. |
| 9Do not hasten in your spirit to be angry, For anger rests in the bosom of fools. | 9Don't let your spirit rush to be angry, for anger abides in the heart of fools. |
| 10Do not say, “Why were the former days better than these?” For you do not inquire wisely concerning this. | 10Don't say, "Why were the former days better than these?" since it is not wise of you to ask this. |
| 11Wisdom is good with an inheritance, And profitable to those who see the sun. | 11Wisdom is as good as an inheritance and an advantage to 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. | 12because wisdom is protection as money is protection, 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, for who can straighten out what He has made crooked? |
| 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: God has made the one as well as the other, so that 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 everything: there is a righteous man who perishes in spite of his righteousness, and there is a wicked man who lives long in spite of his evil. |
| 16Do not be overly righteous, Nor be overly wise: Why should you destroy yourself? | 16Don't be excessively righteous, and don't be overly wise. Why should you destroy yourself? |
| 17Do not be overly wicked, Nor be foolish: Why should you die before your time? | 17Don't be excessively wicked, and don't be foolish. 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 that you grasp the one and do not let the other slip from your hand. For the one who fears God will end up with both of them. |
| 19Wisdom strengthens the wise More than ten rulers of the city. | 19Wisdom makes the wise man stronger than ten rulers of a city. |
| 20For there is not a just man on earth who does good And does not sin. | 20There is certainly no righteous man on the earth who does good and never sins. |
| 21Also do not take to heart everything people say, Lest you hear your servant cursing you. | 21Don't pay attention to everything people say, 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 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. | 23I have tested all this by wisdom. I resolved, "I will 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 beyond reach and very deep. Who can discover 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 turned my thoughts to know, explore, and seek wisdom and an explanation for things, and to know that wickedness is stupidity and folly is 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 trap, her heart a net, and her hands chains. The one who pleases God will escape her, but the sinner will be captured by her. " |
| 27“Here is what I have found,” says the Preacher, “Adding one thing to the other to find out the reason, | 27Look," says the Teacher, "I have discovered this by adding one thing to another to find out the 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. | 28which my soul continually searches for but does not find: among a thousand people I have found one true man, but among all these I have not found a true woman. |
| 29Truly, this only I have found: That God made man upright, But they have sought out many schemes.” | 29Only see this: I have discovered that God made people upright, but they pursued many schemes." |
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