Ecclesiastes 7:3-24
New American Standard Bible
Chapter 7
3Sorrow is better than laughter, For when a face is sad a heart may be happy. 4The mind of the wise is in the house of mourning, While the mind of fools is in the house of pleasure. 5It is better to listen to the rebuke of a wise person Than for one to listen to the song of fools. 6For as the crackling of thorn bushes under a pot, So is the laughter of the fool; And this too is futility. 7For oppression makes a wise person look foolish, And a bribe corrupts the heart. 8The end of a matter is better than its beginning; Patience of spirit is better than arrogance of spirit. 9Do not be eager in your spirit to be angry, For anger resides in the heart of fools. 10Do not say, 'Why is it that the former days were better than these?' For it is not from wisdom that you ask about this. 11Wisdom along with an inheritance is good, And an advantage to those who see the sun. 12For wisdom is protection just as money is protection, But the advantage of knowledge is that wisdom keeps its possessors alive. 13Consider the work of God, For who is able to straighten what He has bent?
15I have seen everything during my lifetime of futility; there is a righteous person who perishes in his righteousness, and there is a wicked person who prolongs his life in his wickedness.
16Do not be excessively righteous, and do not be overly wise. Why should you ruin yourself?
17Do not be excessively wicked, and do not be foolish. Why should you die before your time?
18It is good that you grasp one thing while not letting go of the other; for one who fears God comes out with both of them.
19Wisdom strengthens a wise person more than ten rulers who are in a city.
20Indeed, there is not a righteous person on earth who always does good and does not ever sin.
21Also, do not take seriously all the words which are spoken, so that you do not hear your servant cursing you,
22for you know that even you have cursed others many times as well.
King James Version
Chapter 7
3Sorrow is better than laughter: for by the sadness of the countenance the heart is made better.
4The heart of the wise is in the house of mourning; but the heart of fools is in the house of mirth.
5It is better to hear the rebuke of the wise, than for a man to hear the song of fools.
6For as the crackling of thorns under a pot, so is the laughter of the fool: this also is vanity.
7Surely oppression maketh a wise man mad; and a gift destroyeth the heart.
10Say not thou, What is the cause that the former days were better than these? for thou dost not enquire wisely concerning this.
11Wisdom is good with an inheritance: and by it there is profit to them that see the sun.
12For wisdom is a defence, and money is a defence: but the excellency of knowledge is, that wisdom giveth life to them that have it.
13Consider the work of God: for who can make that straight, which he hath made crooked?
14In the day of prosperity be joyful, but in the day of adversity consider: God also hath set the one over against the other, to the end that man should find nothing after him.
15All things have I seen in the days of my vanity: there is a just man that perisheth in his righteousness, and there is a wicked man that prolongeth his life in his wickedness.
18It is good that thou shouldest take hold of this; yea, also from this withdraw not thine hand: for he that feareth God shall come forth of them all.
19Wisdom strengtheneth the wise more than ten mighty men which are in the city.
Christian Standard Bible
Chapter 7
3Grief is better than laughter, for when a face is sad, a heart may be glad. 4The heart of the wise is in a house of mourning, but the heart of fools is in a house of pleasure. 5It is better to listen to rebuke from a wise person than to listen to the song of fools, 6for like the crackling of burning thorns under the pot, so is the laughter of the fool. This too is futile. 7Surely, the practice of extortion turns a wise person into a fool, and a bribe corrupts the mind. 8The end of a matter is better than its beginning; a patient spirit is better than a proud spirit. 9Don’t let your spirit rush to be angry, for anger abides in the heart of fools. 10Don’t say, "Why were the former days better than these?" since it is not wise of you to ask this. 11Wisdom is as good as an inheritance and an advantage to those who see the sun, 12because wisdom is protection as silver is protection; but the advantage of knowledge is that wisdom preserves the life of its owner. 13Consider the work of God, for who can straighten out what he has made crooked?
15In my futile life I have seen everything: someone righteous perishes in spite of his righteousness, and someone wicked lives long in spite of his evil.
16Don’t be excessively righteous, and don’t be overly wise. Why should you destroy yourself?
17Don’t be excessively wicked, and don’t be foolish. Why should you die before your time?
18It is good that you grasp the one and do not let the other slip from your hand. For the one who fears God will end up with both of them.
19Wisdom makes the wise person stronger than ten rulers of a city.
20There is certainly no one righteous on the earth who does good and never sins.
New Living Translation
Chapter 7
3Sorrow is better than laughter, for sadness has a refining influence on us. 4A wise person thinks a lot about death, while a fool thinks only about having a good time.
5Better to be criticized by a wise person than to be praised by a fool.
6A fool’s laughter is quickly gone, like thorns crackling in a fire. This also is meaningless.
11Wisdom is even better when you have money. Both are a benefit as you go through life.
12Wisdom and money can get you almost anything, but only wisdom can save your life.
13Accept the way God does things, for who can straighten what he has made crooked?
14Enjoy prosperity while you can, but when hard times strike, realize that both come from God. Remember that nothing is certain in this life.
15I have seen everything in this meaningless life, including the death of good young people and the long life of wicked people.
16So don’t be too good or too wise! Why destroy yourself?
17On the other hand, don’t be too wicked either. Don’t be a fool! Why die before your time?
18Pay attention to these instructions, for anyone who fears God will avoid both extremes.
English Standard Version
Chapter 7
3Sorrow is better than laughter, for by sadness of face the heart is made glad. 4The heart of the wise is in the house of mourning, but the heart of fools is in the house of mirth. 5It 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 fools; this also is vanity. 7Surely oppression drives the wise into madness, and a bribe corrupts the heart. 8Better is the end of a thing than its beginning, and the patient in spirit is better than the proud in spirit. 9 Be not quick in your spirit to become angry, for anger lodges in the heart of fools. 10Say not, "Why were the former days better than these?" For it is not from wisdom that you ask this. 11Wisdom is good with an inheritance, an advantage to those who see the sun. 12For 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. 13Consider the work of God: who can make straight what he has made crooked? 14In 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.
15In 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 evildoing.
16Be not overly righteous, and do not make yourself too wise. Why should you destroy yourself?
17Be not overly wicked, neither be a fool. Why should you die before your time?
18It is good that you should take hold of this, and from that withhold not your hand, for the one who fears God shall come out from both of them.
New International Version
Chapter 7
3Frustration is better than laughter, because a sad face is good for the heart. 4The heart of the wise is in the house of mourning, but the heart of fools is in the house of pleasure. 5It is better to heed the rebuke of a wise person than to listen to the song of fools.
7Extortion turns a wise person into a fool, and a bribe corrupts the heart.
8The end of a matter is better than its beginning, and patience is better than pride.
10Do not say, "Why were the old days better than these?" For it is not wise to ask such questions.
11Wisdom, like an inheritance, is a good thing and benefits those who see the sun.
12Wisdom is a shelter as money is a shelter, but the advantage of knowledge is this: Wisdom preserves those who have it.
13Consider what God has done: Who can straighten what he has made crooked?
14When times are good, be happy; but when times are bad, consider this: God has made the one as well as the other. Therefore, no one can discover anything about their future.
15In this meaningless life of mine I have seen both of these: the righteous perishing in their righteousness, and the wicked living long in their wickedness.
16Do not be overrighteous, neither be overwise— why destroy yourself?
17Do not be overwicked, and do not be a fool— why die before your time?
New King James Version
Chapter 7
3Sorrow is better than laughter, For by a sad countenance the heart is made better. 4The heart of the wise is in the house of mourning, But the heart of fools is in the house of mirth. 5 It is better to hear the rebuke of the wise Than for a man to hear the song of fools. 6 For like the crackling of thorns under a pot, So is the laughter of the fool. This also is vanity. 7Surely oppression destroys a wise man’s reason, And a bribe debases the heart. 8The end of a thing is better than its beginning; The patient in spirit is better than the proud in spirit. 9 Do not hasten in your spirit to be angry, For anger rests in the bosom of fools. 10Do not say, “Why were the former days better than these?” For you do not inquire wisely concerning this. 11Wisdom is good with an inheritance, And profitable to those who see the sun. 12For wisdom is a defense as money is a defense, But the excellence of knowledge is that wisdom gives life to those who have it. 13Consider the work of God; For who can make straight what He has made crooked? 14 In the day of prosperity be joyful, But in the day of adversity consider: Surely God has appointed the one as well as the other, So that man can find out nothing that will come after him.
15I have seen everything in my days of vanity: There is a just man who perishes in his righteousness, And there is a wicked man who prolongs life in his wickedness.
16 Do not be overly righteous, Nor be overly wise: Why should you destroy yourself?
17Do not be overly wicked, Nor be foolish: Why should you die before your time?
18 It is good that you grasp this, And also not remove your hand from the other; For he who fears God will escape them all.
19 Wisdom strengthens the wise More than ten rulers of the city.
20 For there is not a just man on earth who does good And does not sin.
21Also do not take to heart everything people say, Lest you hear your servant cursing you.
22For many times, also, your own heart has known That even you have cursed others.
23All this I have proved by wisdom. I said, “I will be wise”; But it was far from me.
24 As for that which is far off and exceedingly deep, Who can find it out?
