Parallel Bible results for "ecclesiastes 7"

Ecclesiastes 7

GOD'S WORD Translation GW

1 A good name is better than expensive perfume, and the day you die is better than the day you're born.

2 It is better to go to a funeral than to a banquet because that is where everyone will end up. Everyone who is alive should take this to heart!

3 Sorrow is better than laughter because, in spite of a sad face, the heart can be joyful.

4 The minds of wise people think about funerals, but the minds of fools think about banquets.

5 It is better to listen to wise people who reprimand you than to fools who sing your praises.

6 The laughter of a fool is like the crackling of thorns burning under a pot. Even this is pointless.

7 Oppression can turn a wise person into a fool, and a bribe can corrupt the mind.

8 The end of something is better than its beginning. It is better to be patient than arrogant.

9 Don't be quick to get angry, because anger is typical of fools.

10 Don't ask, "Why were things better in the old days than they are now?" It isn't wisdom that leads you to ask this!

11 Wisdom is as good as an inheritance. It is an advantage to everyone who sees the sun.

12 Wisdom protects us just as money protects us, but the advantage of wisdom is that it gives life to those who have it.

13 Consider what God has done! Who can straighten what God has bent?

14 When times are good, be happy. But when times are bad, consider this: God has made the one time as well as the other so that mortals cannot predict their future.

15 I have seen it all in my pointless life: Righteous people die in spite of being righteous. Wicked people go on living in spite of being wicked.

16 Don't be too virtuous, and don't be too wise. Why make yourself miserable?

17 Don't be too wicked, and don't be a fool. Why should you die before your time is up?

18 It's good to hold on to the one and not let go of the other, because the one who fears God will be able to avoid both extremes.

19 Wisdom will help a wise person more than ten rulers can help a city.

20 Certainly, there is no one so righteous on earth that he always does what is good and never sins.

21 Don't take everything that people say to heart, or you may hear your own servant cursing you.

22 Your conscience knows that you have cursed others many times.

23 I used wisdom to test all of this. I said, "I want to be wise, but it is out of my reach."

24 Whatever wisdom may be, it is out of reach. It is deep, very deep. Who can find out what it is?

25 I turned my attention to study, to explore, and to seek out wisdom and the reason for things. I learned that wickedness is stupid and foolishness is madness.

26 I find that a woman whose thoughts are [like] traps and snares is more bitter than death itself. Even her hands are [like] chains. Whoever pleases God will escape her, but she will catch whoever continues to sin.

27 The spokesman said, "This is what I've found: I added one thing to another in order to find a reason for things.

28 I am still seeking a reason for things, but have not found any. I found one man out of a thousand who had it, but out of all these I didn't find one woman.

29 I have found only this: God made people decent, but they looked for many ways [to avoid being decent]."

New International Version NIV

1 A good name is better than fine perfume, and the day of death better than the day of birth.

2 It is better to go to a house of mourning than to go to a house of feasting, for death is the destiny of everyone; the living should take this to heart.

3 Frustration is better than laughter, because a sad face 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 the rebuke of a wise person than to listen to the song of fools.

6 Like the crackling of thorns under the pot, so is the laughter of fools. This too is meaningless.

7 Extortion turns a wise person into a fool, and a bribe corrupts the heart.

8 The end of a matter is better than its beginning, and patience is better than pride.

9 Do not be quickly provoked in your spirit, for anger resides in the lap of fools.

10 Do not say, “Why were the old days better than these?” For it is not wise to ask such questions.

11 Wisdom, like an inheritance, is a good thing and benefits those who see the sun.

12 Wisdom is a shelter as money is a shelter, but the advantage of knowledge is this: Wisdom preserves those who have it.

13 Consider what God has done: Who can straighten what he has made crooked?

14 When 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.

15 In 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.

16 Do not be overrighteous, neither be overwise— why destroy yourself?

17 Do not be overwicked, and do not be a fool— why die before your time?

18 It is good to grasp the one and not let go of the other. Whoever fears God will avoid all extremes.

19 Wisdom makes one wise person more powerful than ten rulers in a city.

20 Indeed, there is no one on earth who is righteous, no one who does what is right and never sins.

21 Do not pay attention to every word people say, 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 and I said, “I am determined to be wise”— but this was beyond me.

24 Whatever exists is far off and most profound— who can discover it?

25 So I turned my mind to understand, to investigate and to search out wisdom and the scheme of things and to understand the stupidity of wickedness and the madness of folly.

26 I find more bitter than death the woman who is a snare, whose heart is a trap and whose hands are chains. The man who pleases God will escape her, but the sinner she will ensnare.

27 “Look,” says the Teacher, “this is what I have discovered: “Adding one thing to another to discover the scheme of things—

28 while I was still searching but not finding— I found one upright man among a thousand, but not one upright woman among them all.

29 This only have I found: God created mankind upright, but they have gone in search of many schemes.”