Ecc 7 | NASB2020 | STEP | A good name is better than good oil , And the day of one’s death is better than the day of one’s birth .

Ecclesiastes 7

Wisdom and Foolishness Contrasted

1 A ^agood name is better than good ^{▼▼I.e., olive oil}oil,
And the ^cday 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 ^{▼▼I.e., death}that is the ^eend of every person,
And the living ^{▼▼Lit gives
,} ^gtakes it to ^{▼▼Lit his heart}heart.
3 ⁱSorrow is better than laughter,
For ^jwhen a face is sad a heart may be happy.
4 The ^{▼▼Lit heart}mind of the wise is in the house of mourning,
While the ^{▼▼Lit heart}mind of fools is in the house of pleasure.
5 It is better to ^mlisten to the rebuke of a wise person
Than for one to listen to the song of fools.
6 For as the ^{▼▼Lit voice}crackling of ^othorn bushes under a pot,
So is the ^plaughter of the fool;
And this too is futility.
7 For ^qoppression makes a wise person look foolish,
And a ^rbribe ^{▼▼Lit destroys}corrupts the heart.
8 The ^tend of a matter is better than its beginning;
^uPatience of spirit is better than arrogance of spirit.
9 Do not be ^{▼▼Lit hasty
,} ^weager in your spirit to be angry,
For anger resides in the ^{▼▼Lit chest}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 ^yadvantage to those who see the sun.
12 For ^zwisdom is ^{▼▼Lit in a shadow}protection just as money is ^{▼▼Lit in a shadow}protection,
But the advantage of knowledge is that ^acwisdom keeps its possessors alive.
13 Consider the ^adwork of God,
For who is ^aeable to straighten what He has bent?
14 ^afOn the day of prosperity be happy,
But ^agon the day of adversity consider:
God has made the one as well as the other
So that a person will ^ahnot discover anything that will come after him.
15 I have seen everything during my ^{▼▼Lit days
,} ^ajlifetime of futility; there is ^aka righteous person who perishes in his righteousness, and there is ^ala wicked person who prolongs his life in his wickedness. 16 Do not be excessively ^amrighteous, and do not ^anbe overly wise. Why should you ruin yourself? 17 Do not be excessively wicked, and do not be foolish. Why should you ^aodie ^{▼▼Lit when not your time}before your time? 18 It is good that you grasp one thing while not ^{▼▼Lit resting your hand}letting go of the other; for one who ^arfears God comes out with ^{▼▼Lit all of them}both of them.

19 ^atWisdom strengthens a wise person more than ten rulers who are in a city. 20 Indeed, ^authere is not a righteous person on earth who always does good and does not ever sin. 21 Also, do not ^{▼▼Lit give your heart to}take seriously all the words which are spoken, so that you do not hear your servant ^awcursing you, 22 for ^{▼▼Lit your heart knows}you know that even you have cursed others many times as well.

23 I tested all this with wisdom, and I said, “I will be wise,” ^aybut wisdom was far from me. 24 What has been is remote and ^azvery ^{▼▼Lit deep}mysterious. ^bbWho can discover it? 25 I ^{▼▼Lit turned about
,} ^bddirected my ^{▼▼Lit heart}mind to know and to investigate, and to seek wisdom and an explanation, and to know the evil of foolishness and the foolishness of insanity. 26 And I discovered as more ^bfbitter than death the woman whose heart is ^bgsnares and nets, whose hands are chains. ^bhOne who is pleasing to God will escape from her, but ^bithe sinner will be captured by her.

27 “Behold, I have discovered this,” says the Preacher, “by adding one thing to another to find an explanation, 28 which ^{▼▼Lit my soul still seeks}I am still seeking but have not found. I have found one man among a thousand, but I have not found a ^bkwoman among all these. 29 Behold, I have found only this, that ^blGod made people upright, but they have sought out many schemes.”