Ecclesiastes 7:1-14

New American Standard Bible

7 A ^(A)good name is better than good ^[a]oil,
And the ^(B)day of one’s death is better than the day of one’s birth.
² It is better to go to a house of mourning
Than to go to a house of feasting,
Because ^[b]that is the ^(C)end of every person,
And the living ^[c](D)takes it to ^[d]heart.
^3 (E)Sorrow is better than laughter,
For ^(F)when a face is sad a heart may be happy.
⁴ The ^[e]mind of the wise is in the house of mourning,
While the ^[f]mind of fools is in the house of pleasure.
⁵ It is better to ^(G)listen to the rebuke of a wise person
Than for one to listen to the song of fools.
⁶ For as the ^[g]crackling of ^(H)thorn bushes under a pot,
So is the ^(I)laughter of the fool;
And this too is futility.
⁷ For ^(J)oppression makes a wise person look foolish,
And a ^(K)bribe ^[h]corrupts the heart.
⁸ The ^(L)end of a matter is better than its beginning;
^(M)Patience of spirit is better than arrogance of spirit.
⁹ Do not be ^[i](N)eager in your spirit to be angry,
For anger resides in the ^[j]heart of fools.
¹⁰ Do not say, “Why is it that the former days were better than these?”
For it is not from wisdom that you ask about this.
¹¹ Wisdom along with an inheritance is good,
And an ^(O)advantage to those who see the sun.
¹² For ^(P)wisdom is ^[k]protection just as money is ^[l]protection,
But the advantage of knowledge is that ^(Q)wisdom keeps its possessors alive.
¹³ Consider the ^(R)work of God,
For who is ^(S)able to straighten what He has bent?
^14 (T)On the day of prosperity be happy,
But ^(U)on the day of adversity consider:
God has made the one as well as the other
So that a person will ^(V)not discover anything that will come after him.