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Ecclesiastes 7
Tree of Life Version
Ecclesiastes 7
Tree of Life Version
Lessons from Mourning
7 Better is a good reputation than precious oil
and the day of death than the day of birth.
2 Better to go to a house of mourning
than to go to the house of feasting,
since that is the end of all mankind
—and the living should take it to heart.
3 Grief is better than laughter,
for though the face is sad, the heart may be glad.
4 The heart of the wise is in a house of mourning,
but the heart of fools is in a house of pleasure.
Wisdom Better Than Folly
5 Better to hear a rebuke from the wise
than to listen to the song of fools.
6 For like the crackling of thorns under a pot,
so is the laughter of the fool.
This too is vapor.
7 For extortion drives a wise man crazy,
and a bribe corrupts the heart.
8 Better the end of a matter than its beginning.
Better a patient spirit than a proud one.
9 Do not be quickly provoked in your spirit,[a]
for anger settles in the bosom of fools.
10 Do not say, “Why were the old days better than these?”
For it is not from wisdom that you ask about this.
11 Wisdom is as good as an inheritance,
and even better for those who see the sun.
12 For wisdom is a shelter as money is a shelter,
but the advantage of knowledge is this:
wisdom preserves the life of the one who possesses it.
13 Consider the work of God,
for who can straighten what He has bent?
14 In a time of prosperity, prosper!
But in a time of adversity, consider:
God has made one as well as the other.
Therefore man cannot discover anything about his future.
Avoid Extremes
15 During my fleeting days I have seen both of these things:
sometimes a righteous one perishes in his righteousness
and sometimes a wicked one lives long in his wickedness.
16 Do not be overly righteous
nor overly wise—
why confound yourself?
17 Do not be overly wicked
and do not be a fool—
why die before your time?
18 It is good to grasp the one
and not withdraw your hand from the other.
For the one who fears God will
escape both extremes.
19 Wisdom makes a wise man stronger
than ten rulers in a city.
20 Surely there is not a righteous person on earth
who does what is good and doesn’t sin.[b]
21 Also, do not pay attention to every word people say,
otherwise you might hear your servant mocking you—
22 for your heart knows that many times
you too have mocked others.
23 All this I have tested with wisdom and I said, “I determined to be wise”—but it was far from me. 24 Whatever it may be, it is far off and very profound—who can fathom it? 25 So I turned my heart to understand, to search and seek out wisdom and an explanation of things and to know the stupidity of wickedness and madness of folly.
26 I find more bitter than death the woman who is a snare,
whose heart is a trap, and whose hands are chains.
He who pleases God will escape her,
but a sinner will be captured by her.
27 “Look,” said Kohelet, “I have discovered this while adding one thing to another to find the scheme of things— 28 which my soul is still seeking, but not finding—I found one upright man among a thousand, but one upright woman among them all I have not found. 29 Only this have I discovered: God made mankind upright, but they went seeking after many schemes.”
Footnotes
- Ecclesiastes 7:9 cf. Matt. 5:22.
- Ecclesiastes 7:20 cf. Rom. 3:23.
Ecclesiastes 7
New International Version
Ecclesiastes 7
New International Version
Wisdom
7 A good name is better than fine perfume,(A)
and the day of death better than the day of birth.(B)
2 It is better to go to a house of mourning
than to go to a house of feasting,
for death(C) is the destiny(D) of everyone;
the living should take this to heart.
3 Frustration is better than laughter,(E)
because a sad face 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.(F)
5 It is better to heed the rebuke(G) of a wise person
than to listen to the song of fools.
6 Like the crackling of thorns(H) under the pot,
so is the laughter(I) of fools.
This too is meaningless.
7 Extortion turns a wise person into a fool,
and a bribe(J) corrupts the heart.
8 The end of a matter is better than its beginning,
and patience(K) is better than pride.
9 Do not be quickly provoked(L) in your spirit,
for anger resides in the lap of fools.(M)
10 Do not say, “Why were the old days(N) better than these?”
For it is not wise to ask such questions.
11 Wisdom, like an inheritance, is a good thing(O)
and benefits those who see the sun.(P)
12 Wisdom is a shelter
as money is a shelter,
but the advantage of knowledge is this:
Wisdom preserves those who have it.
13 Consider what God has done:(Q)
Who can straighten
what he has made crooked?(R)
14 When times are good, be happy;
but when times are bad, consider this:
God has made the one
as well as the other.(S)
Therefore, no one can discover
anything about their future.
15 In this meaningless life(T) of mine I have seen both of these:
the righteous perishing in their righteousness,
and the wicked living long in their wickedness.(U)
16 Do not be overrighteous,
neither be overwise—
why destroy yourself?
17 Do not be overwicked,
and do not be a fool—
why die before your time?(V)
18 It is good to grasp the one
and not let go of the other.
Whoever fears God(W) will avoid all extremes.[a]
20 Indeed, there is no one on earth who is righteous,(Z)
no one who does what is right and never sins.(AA)
21 Do not pay attention to every word people say,
or you(AB) may hear your servant cursing you—
22 for you know in your heart
that many times you yourself have cursed others.
23 All this I tested by wisdom and I said,
“I am determined to be wise”(AC)—
but this was beyond me.
24 Whatever exists is far off and most profound—
who can discover it?(AD)
25 So I turned my mind to understand,
to investigate and to search out wisdom and the scheme of things(AE)
and to understand the stupidity of wickedness
and the madness of folly.(AF)
26 I find more bitter than death
the woman who is a snare,(AG)
whose heart is a trap
and whose hands are chains.
The man who pleases God will escape her,
but the sinner she will ensnare.(AH)
27 “Look,” says the Teacher,[b](AI) “this is what I have discovered:
“Adding one thing to another to discover the scheme of things—
28 while I was still searching
but not finding—
I found one upright man among a thousand,
but not one upright woman(AJ) among them all.
29 This only have I found:
God created mankind upright,
but they have gone in search of many schemes.”
Footnotes
- Ecclesiastes 7:18 Or will follow them both
- Ecclesiastes 7:27 Or the leader of the assembly
Tree of Life Version (TLV)
Tree of Life (TLV) Translation of the Bible. Copyright © 2015 by The Messianic Jewish Family Bible Society.
New International Version (NIV) 
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NIV Reverse Interlinear Bible: English to Hebrew and English to Greek. Copyright © 2019 by Zondervan.