The Value of Wisdom
1A good name is better than precious ointment; and the day of death than the day of one's birth.
2It is better to go to the house of mourning, than to go to the house of feasting: for that is the end of all men; and the living will lay it to his heart.
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.
8Better is the end of a thing than the beginning thereof: and the patient in spirit is better than the proud in spirit.
9Be not hasty in thy spirit to be angry: for anger resteth in the bosom of fools.
10Say not thou, What is the cause that the former days were better than these? for thou dost not inquire 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.
Limits of Human Wisdom
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. 16Be not righteous over much; neither make thyself over wise: why shouldest thou destroy thyself? 17Be not over much wicked, neither be thou foolish: why shouldest thou die before thy time? 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. 20For there is not a just man upon earth, that doeth good, and sinneth not. 21Also take no heed unto all words that are spoken; lest thou hear thy servant curse thee: 22For oftentimes also thine own heart knoweth that thou thyself likewise hast cursed others.
23All this have I proved by wisdom: I said, I will be wise; but it was far from me. 24That which is far off, and exceeding deep, who can find it out? 25I applied mine heart to know, and to search, and to seek out wisdom, and the reason of things, and to know the wickedness of folly, even of foolishness and madness: 26And I find more bitter than death the woman, whose heart is snares and nets, and her hands as bands: whoso pleaseth God shall escape from her; but the sinner shall be taken by her.
27Behold, this have I found, saith the preacher, counting one by one, to find out the account: 28Which yet my soul seeketh, but I find not: one man among a thousand have I found; but a woman among all those have I not found. 29Lo, this only have I found, that God hath made man upright; but they have sought out many inventions.
King James Bible
Text courtesy of BibleProtector.com.
The Value of Wisdom
1 A good name is better than fine perfume; and the day of death better 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: for that is the end of all men, and the living should take this to heart.
3 Sorrow is better than laughter; for by the sadness of the face the heart is made good.
4 The 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 as the crackling of thorns under a pot, so is the laughter of the fool. This also is vanity.
7 Surely extortion makes the wise man foolish; and a bribe destroys the understanding.
8 Better is the end of a thing than its beginning. The patient in spirit is better than the proud in spirit.
9 Don’t be hasty in your spirit to be angry, for anger rests in the bosom of fools.
10 Don’t say, “Why were the former days better than these?” For you do not ask wisely about this.
11 Wisdom is as good as an inheritance. Yes, it is more excellent for those who see the sun.
12 For wisdom is a defense, even as money is a defense; but the excellency of knowledge is that wisdom preserves the life of him who has it.
13 Consider the work of God, for who can make that straight, which he has made crooked?
14 In the day of prosperity be joyful, and in the day of adversity consider; yes, God has made the one side by side with the other, to the end that man should not find out anything after him.
The Limits of Human Wisdom
15 All this have I seen in my days of vanity: there is a righteous man who perishes in his righteousness, and there is a wicked man who lives long in his evildoing. 16 Don’t be overly righteous, neither make yourself overly wise. Why should you destroy yourself? 17 Don’t be too wicked, neither be foolish. Why should you die before your time? 18 It is good that you should take hold of this. Yes, also from that don’t withdraw your hand; for he who fears God will come forth from them all.
19 Wisdom is a strength to the wise man more than ten rulers who are in a city. 20 Surely there is not a righteous man on earth, who does good and doesn’t sin. 21 Also don’t take heed to all words that are spoken, lest you hear your servant curse you; 22 for often your own heart knows that you yourself have likewise cursed others.
23 All this have I proved in wisdom. I said, “I will be wise;” but it was far from me. 24 That which is, is far off and exceedingly deep. Who can find it out? 25 I turned around, and my heart sought to know and to search out, and to seek wisdom and the scheme of things, and to know that wickedness is stupidity, and that foolishness is madness. 26 I find more bitter than death the woman whose heart is snares and traps, whose hands are chains. Whoever pleases God shall escape from her; but the sinner will be ensnared by her.
27 “Behold, I have found this,” says the Preacher, “one to another, to find out the scheme; 28 which my soul still seeks; but I have not found. One man among a thousand have I found; but I have not found a woman among all those. 29 Behold, this only have I found: that God made man upright; but they search for many schemes.”
The Value of Wisdom
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. a
10 Do not say, “Why were the old days better than these?”
For it is unwise of you to ask about this.
11 Wisdom, like an inheritance, is good,
and it benefits those who see the sun.
12 For wisdom, like money, is a shelter,
and the advantage of knowledge
is that wisdom preserves the life of its owner.
13 Consider the work of God:
Who can straighten what He has bent?
14 In the day of prosperity, be joyful,
but in the day of adversity, consider this:
God has made one of these along with the other,
so that a man cannot discover
anything that will come after him.
The Limits of Human Wisdom
15 In my futile life I have seen both of these:
A righteous man perishing in his righteousness,
and a wicked man living long in his wickedness.
16 Do not be overly righteous, and do not make yourself too wise. Why should you destroy yourself? 17 Do not be excessively wicked, and do not be a fool. Why should you die before your time? 18 It is good to grasp the one and not let the other slip from your hand. For he who fears God will follow both warnings. b
19 Wisdom makes the wise man
stronger than ten rulers in a city.
20 Surely there is no righteous man on earth
who does good and never sins.
21 Do not pay attention to every word that is spoken, or you 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, saying, “I resolve to be wise.” But it was beyond me. 24 What exists is out of reach and very deep. Who can fathom it?
25 I directed my mind to understand, to explore, to search out wisdom and explanations, and to understand the stupidity of wickedness and the folly of madness. 26 And I find more bitter than death the woman who is a snare, whose heart is a net, and whose hands are chains. The man who pleases God escapes her, but the sinner is ensnared.
27 “Behold,” says the Teacher, “I have discovered this by adding one thing to another to find an explanation. 28 While my soul was still searching but not finding, among a thousand I have found one upright man, but among all these I have not found one such woman. 29 Only this have I found: I have discovered that God made men upright, but they have sought out many schemes.”
Footnotes:
9 a Hebrew in the bosom of fools
18 b Or will avoid all extremes
The Value of Wisdom
1Better is a name than good perfume, And the day of death than the day of birth.
2Better to go unto a house of mourning, Than to go unto a house of banqueting, For that is the end of all men, And the living layeth it unto his heart.
3Better is sorrow than laughter, For by the sadness of the face the heart becometh better.
4The heart of the wise is in a house of mourning, And the heart of fools in a house of mirth.
5Better to hear a rebuke of a wise man, Than for a man to hear a song of fools,
6For as the noise of thorns under the pot, So is the laughter of a fool, even this is vanity.
7Surely oppression maketh the wise mad, And a gift destroyeth the heart.
8Better is the latter end of a thing than its beginning, Better is the patient of spirit, than the haughty of spirit.
9Be not hasty in thy spirit to be angry, For anger in the bosom of fools resteth.
10Say not thou, 'What was it, That the former days were better than these?' For thou hast not asked wisely of this.
11Wisdom is good with an inheritance, And an advantage it is to those beholding the sun.
12For wisdom is a defense, money is a defence, And the advantage of the knowledge of wisdom is, She reviveth her possessors.
13See the work of God, For who is able to make straight that which He made crooked?
14In a day of prosperity be in gladness, And in a day of evil consider. Also this over-against that hath God made, To the intent that man doth not find anything after him.
Limits of Human Wisdom
15The whole I have considered in the days of my vanity. There is a righteous one perishing in his righteousness, and there is a wrong-doer prolonging himself in his wrong. 16Be not over-righteous, nor show thyself too wise, why art thou desolate? 17Do not much wrong, neither be thou a fool, why dost thou die within thy time? 18It is good that thou dost lay hold on this, and also, from that withdrawest not thy hand, for whoso is fearing God goeth out with them all.
19The wisdom giveth strength to a wise man, more than wealth the rulers who have been in a city. 20Because there is not a righteous man on earth that doth good and sinneth not. 21Also to all the words that they speak give not thy heart, that thou hear not thy servant reviling thee. 22For many times also hath thy heart known that thou thyself also hast reviled others.
23All this I have tried by wisdom; I have said, 'I am wise,' and it is far from me. 24Far off is that which hath been, and deep, deep, who doth find it? 25I have turned round, also my heart, to know and to search, and to seek out wisdom, and reason, and to know the wrong of folly, and of foolishness the madness. 26And I am finding more bitter than death, the woman whose heart is nets and snares, her hands are bands; the good before God escapeth from her, but the sinner is captured by her.
27See, this I have found, said the Preacher, one to one, to find out the reason 28(that still my soul had sought, and I had not found), One man, a teacher, I have found, and a woman among all these I have not found. 29See, this alone I have found, that God made man upright, and they -- they have sought out many devices.
