Ecclesiastes 7:1-12 ▼

1 Better [is] a name than good perfume, || And the day of death than the day of birth.

2 Better to go to a house of mourning, || Than to go to a house of banqueting, || For that is the end of all men, || And the living lays [it] to his heart.

3 Better [is] sorrow than laughter, || For by the sadness of the face the heart becomes better.

4 The heart of the wise [is] in a house of mourning, || And the heart of fools in a house of mirth.

5 Better to hear a rebuke of a wise man, || Than [for] a man to hear a song of fools,

6 For as the noise of thorns under the pot, || So [is] the laughter of a fool, even this [is] vanity.

7 Surely oppression makes the wise mad, || And a gift destroys the heart.

8 Better [is] the latter end of a thing than its beginning, || Better [is] the patient of spirit, than the haughty of spirit.

9 Do not be hasty in your spirit to be angry, || For anger in the bosom of fools rests.

10 Do not say, “What was it, || That the former days were better than these?” For you have not asked wisely of this.

11 Wisdom [is] good with an inheritance, || And an advantage [it is] to those beholding the sun.

12 For wisdom [is] a defense, money [is] a defense, || And the advantage of the knowledge of wisdom [is], || She revives her possessors.