Ecclesiastes, 7

1. Better a good name than costly oil, the day of death than the day of birth.

1. A good name is better than precious ointment; and the day of death, than the day of birth.

2. Better go to the house of mourning than to the house of feasting; for to this end everyone comes, let the living take this to heart.

2. It is better to go to the house of mourning than to go to the house of feasting; for this is the end of all men, and the living will lay it to heart.

3. Better sadness than laughter: a joyful heart may be concealed behind sad looks.

3. Sorrow is better than laughter, for by sadness of countenance the heart is made glad.

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

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

5. Better attend to the reprimand of the wise than listen to a song sung by a fool.

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

6. For like the crackling of thorns under the cauldron is the laughter of fools: and that too is futile.

6. For as the crackling of thorns under a pot, so is the laughter of the fools; this also is vanity.

7. But being oppressed drives a sage mad, and a present corrupts the heart.

7. Surely oppression makes the wise man foolish, and a bribe corrupts the mind.

8. Better the end of a matter than its beginning, better patience than ambition.

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

9. Do not be too easily exasperated, for exasperation dwells in the heart of fools.

9. Be not quick to anger, for anger lodges in the bosom of fools.

10. Do not ask why the past was better than the present, for this is not a question prompted by wisdom.

10. Say not, "Why were the former days better than these?" For it is not from wisdom that you ask this.

11. Wisdom is as good as a legacy, profitable to those who enjoy the light of the sun.

11. Wisdom is good with an inheritance, an advantage to those who see the sun.

12. For as money protects, so does wisdom, and the advantage of knowledge is this: that wisdom bestows life on those who possess her.

12. For the protection of wisdom is like the protection of money; and the advantage of knowledge is that wisdom preserves the life of him who has it.

13. Consider God's creation: who, for instance, can straighten what God has bent?

13. Consider the work of God; who can make straight what he has made crooked?

14. When things are going well, enjoy yourself, and when they are going badly, consider this: God has designed the one no less than the other so that we should take nothing for granted.

14. In the day of prosperity be joyful, and in the day of adversity consider; God has made the one as well as the other, so that man may not find out anything that will be after him.

15. In my futile life, I have seen everything: the upright person perishing in uprightness and the wicked person surviving in wickedness.

15. In my vain life I have seen everything; there is a righteous man who perishes in his righteousness, and there is a wicked man who prolongs his life in his evil-doing.

16. Do not be upright to excess and do not make yourself unduly wise: why should you destroy yourself?

16. Be not righteous overmuch, and do not make yourself overwise; why should you destroy yourself?

17. Do not be wicked to excess, and do not be a fool: why die before your time?

17. Be not wicked overmuch, neither be a fool; why should you die before your time?

18. It is wise to hold on to one and not let go of the other, since the godfearing will find both.

18. It is good that you should take hold of this, and from that withhold not your hand; for he who fears God shall come forth from them all.

19. Wisdom makes the wise stronger than a dozen governors in a city.

19. Wisdom gives strength to the wise man more than ten rulers that are in a city.

20. No one on earth is sufficiently upright to do good without ever sinning.

20. Surely there is not a righteous man on earth who does good and never sins.

21. Again, do not listen to all that people say, then you will not hear your servant abusing you.

21. Do not give heed to all the things that men say, lest you hear your servant cursing you;

22. For often, as you very well know, you have abused others.

22. your heart knows that many times you have yourself cursed others.

23. Thanks to wisdom, I have found all this to be true; I resolved to be wise, but this was beyond my reach!

23. All this I have tested by wisdom; I said, "I will be wise"; but it was far from me.

24. The past is out of reach, buried deep -- who can discover it?

24. That which is, is far off, and deep, very deep; who can find it out?

25. But I have reached the point where, having learnt, explored and investigated wisdom and reflection, I recognise evil as being a form of madness, and folly as something stupid.

25. I turned my mind to know and to search out and to seek wisdom and the sum of things, and to know the wickedness of folly and the foolishness which is madness.

26. And I find woman more bitter than Death, she is a snare, her heart is a net, and her arms are chains. The man who is pleasing to God eludes her, but the sinner is captured by her.

26. And I found more bitter than death the woman whose heart is snares and nets, and whose hands are fetters; he who pleases God escapes her, but the sinner is taken by her.

27. This is what I think, says Qoheleth, having examined one thing after another to draw some conclusion,

27. Behold, this is what I found, says the Preacher, adding one thing to another to find the sum,

28. which I am still looking for, although unsuccessfully: one man in a thousand, I may find, but a woman better than other women-never.

28. which my mind has sought repeatedly, but I have not found. One man among a thousand I found, but a woman among all these I have not found.

29. This alone is my conclusion: God has created man straightforward, and human artifices are human inventions.

29. Behold, this alone I found, that God made man upright, but they have sought out many devices.