Ecclesiastes 7:1-9 ▼

1 A [good] name is better than precious ointment, and the day of death than the day of one's birth.

2 It is better to go to the house of mourning than to go to the house of feasting: in that that is the end of all men, and the living taketh it to heart.

3 Vexation is better than laughter; for by the sadness of the countenance the heart is made better.

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

5 It is better for a man to hear the rebuke of the wise, than to hear the song of fools.

6 For as the crackling of thorns under a pot, so is the laughter of the fool. This also is vanity.

7 Surely oppression maketh a wise man mad, and a gift destroyeth the heart.

8 Better is the end of a thing than its beginning; better is a patient spirit than a proud spirit.

9 Be not hasty in thy spirit to be vexed; for vexation resteth in the bosom of fools.