Ecclesiastes 7:1-9 ▼

1 A good name is better than fine perfume, and one’s day of death is better than his day of birth.

2 It 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.

3 Sorrow is better than laughter, for a sad countenance is good for the heart.

4 The heart of the wise is in the house of mourning, but the heart of fools is in the house of pleasure.

5 It is better to heed a wise man’s rebuke than to listen to the song of fools.

6 For like the crackling of thorns under the pot, so is the laughter of the fool. This too is futile.

7 Surely extortion turns a wise man into a fool, and a bribe corrupts the heart.

8 The end of a matter is better than the beginning, and a patient spirit is better than a proud one.

9 Do not be quickly provoked in your spirit, for anger settles in the lap of a fool.