Common English Bible CEB
New Revised Standard NRS
1 A good name is better than fine oil, and the day of death better than the birthday.
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A good name is better than precious ointment, and the day of death, than the day of birth.
2 It is better to go to a house in mourning than to a house party, because that is everyone's destiny; and the living should take it to heart.
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It is better to go to the house of mourning than to go to the house of feasting; for this is the end of everyone, and the living will lay it to heart.
3 Aggravation is better than merriment because a sad face may lead to a glad heart.
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Sorrow is better than laughter, for by sadness of countenance the heart is made glad.
4 The wise heart is in the house that mourns, but the foolish heart is in the house that rejoices.
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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 obey the reprimand of the wise than to listen to the song of fools,
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It is better to hear the rebuke of the wise than to hear the song of fools.
6 because the fool's merriment is like nettles crackling under a kettle. That too is pointless.
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For like the crackling of thorns under a pot, so is the laughter of fools; this also is vanity.
7 Oppression turns the wise into fools; a bribe corrupts the heart.
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Surely oppression makes the wise foolish, and a bribe corrupts the heart.
8 The end of something is better than its beginning. Patience is better than arrogance.
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Better is the end of a thing than its beginning; the patient in spirit are better than the proud in spirit.
9 Don't be too quick to get angry because anger lives in the fool's heart.
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Do not be quick to anger, for anger lodges in the bosom of fools.
10 Don't ask, "How is it that the former days were better than these?" because it isn't wise to ask this.
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Do not say, "Why were the former days better than these?" For it is not from wisdom that you ask this.
11 Wisdom is as good as an inheritance— an advantage for those who see the sun.
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Wisdom is as good as an inheritance, an advantage to those who see the sun.
12 Wisdom's protection is like the protection of money; the advantage of knowledge is that wisdom preserves the lives of its possessors.
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For the protection of wisdom is like the protection of money, and the advantage of knowledge is that wisdom gives life to the one who possesses it.
13 Consider God's work! Who can straighten what God has made crooked?
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Consider the work of God; who can make straight what he has made crooked?
14 When times are good, enjoy the good; when times are bad, consider: God has made the former as well as the latter so that people can't discover anything that will come to be after them.
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In the day of prosperity be joyful, and in the day of adversity consider; God has made the one as well as the other, so that mortals may not find out anything that will come after them.
15 I have seen everything in my pointless lifetime: the righteous person may die in spite of their righteousness; then again, the wicked may live long in spite of their wickedness.
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In my vain life I have seen everything; there are righteous people who perish in their righteousness, and there are wicked people who prolong their life in their evildoing.
16 Don't be too righteous or too wise, or you may be dumbfounded.
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Do not be too righteous, and do not act too wise; why should you destroy yourself?
17 Don't be too wicked and don't be a fool, or you may die before your time.
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Do not be too wicked, and do not be a fool; why should you die before your time?
18 It's good that you take hold of one of these without letting go of the other because the one who fears God will go forth with both.
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It is good that you should take hold of the one, without letting go of the other; for the one who fears God shall succeed with both.
19 Wisdom makes a wise person stronger than ten rulers who are in a city.
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Wisdom gives strength to the wise more than ten rulers that are in a city.
20 Remember: there's no one on earth so righteous as to do good only and never make a mistake.
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Surely there is no one on earth so righteous as to do good without ever sinning.
21 Don't worry about all the things people say, so you don't hear your servant cursing you.
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Do not give heed to everything that people say, or you may hear your servant cursing you;
22 After all, you know that you've often cursed others yourself!
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your heart knows that many times you have yourself cursed others.
23 I tested all of this by wisdom. I thought, I will be wise, but it eluded me.
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All this I have tested by wisdom; I said, "I will be wise," but it was far from me.
24 All that happens is elusive and utterly unfathomable. Who can grasp it?
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That which is, is far off, and deep, very deep; who can find it out?
25 I turned my mind to know, to investigate, and to seek wisdom, along with an account of things, to know that wickedness is foolishness and folly is madness.
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I turned my mind to know and to search out and to seek wisdom and the sum of things, and to know that wickedness is folly and that foolishness is madness.
26 I found one woman more bitter than death: she who is a trap, her heart a snare, her hands shackles. Anyone who pleases God escapes her, but a sinner is trapped by her.
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I found more bitter than death the woman who is a trap, whose heart is snares and nets, whose hands are fetters; one who pleases God escapes her, but the sinner is taken by her.
27 See, this is what I found, says the Teacher, examining one matter after another to account for things.
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See, this is what I found, says the Teacher, adding one thing to another to find the sum,
28 But there's something that I constantly searched for but couldn't find: I found one man among a thousand, but I couldn't find a woman among any of these.
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which my mind has sought repeatedly, but I have not found. One man among a thousand I found, but a woman among all these I have not found.
29 See, this alone I found: God made human beings straightforward, but they search for many complications.
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See, this alone I found, that God made human beings straightforward, but they have devised many schemes.
Copyright © 2011 Common English Bible
New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright 1989, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.