Ecclesiastes 7:6-8

New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition

⁶ For like the crackling of thorns under a pot,
    so is the laughter of fools;
    this also is vanity.
⁷ Surely oppression makes the wise foolish,
    and a bribe corrupts the heart.^(A)
8 Better is the end of a thing than its beginning;
    the patient in spirit are better than the proud in spirit.^(B)