Parallel Bible results for "ecclesiastes 7"

Ecclesiastes 7

Holman Christian Standard Bible CSB

1 A good name is better than fine perfume, and the day of one's death 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, since that is the end of all mankind, and the living should take it to heart.

3 Grief is better than laughter, for when a face is sad, a heart may be glad.

4 The heart of the wise is in a house of mourning, but the heart of fools is in a house of pleasure.

5 It is better to listen to rebuke from a wise person than to listen to the song of fools.

6 For like the crackling of [burning] thorns under the pot, so is the laughter of the fool. This too is futile.

7 Surely, the practice of extortion turns a wise person into a fool, and a bribe destroys the mind.

8 The end of a matter is better than its beginning; a patient spirit is better than a proud spirit.

9 Don't let your spirit rush to be angry, for anger abides in the heart of fools.

10 Don't say, "Why were the former days better than these?" For it is not wise of you to ask this.

11 Wisdom is as good as an inheritance, and an advantage to those who see the sun.

12 For wisdom is protection as money is protection, and the advantage of knowledge is that wisdom preserves the life of its owner.

13 Consider the work of God; for who can straighten out what He has made crooked?

14 In the day of prosperity be joyful, but in the day of adversity, consider: without question, God has made the one as well as the other, so that man cannot discover anything that will come after him.

15 In my futile life I have seen everything: there is a righteous man who perishes in spite of his righteousness, and there is a wicked man who lives long in spite of his evil.

16 Don't be excessively righteous, and don't be overly wise. Why should you destroy yourself?

17 Don't be excessively wicked, and don't be foolish. Why should you die before your time?

18 It is good that you grasp the one and do not let the other slip from your hand. For the one who fears God will end up with both of them.

19 Wisdom makes the wise man stronger than ten rulers of a city.

20 There is certainly no righteous man on the earth who does good and never sins.

21 Don't pay attention to everything people say, or you may hear your servant cursing you;

22 for you know that many times you yourself have cursed others.

23 I have tested all this by wisdom. I resolved, "I will be wise," but it was beyond me.

24 What exists is beyond [reach] and very deep. Who can discover it?

25 I turned my thoughts to know, explore, and seek wisdom and an explanation [for things], and to know that wickedness is stupidity and folly is madness.

26 And I find more bitter than death the woman who is a trap, her heart a net, and her hands chains. The one who pleases God will escape her, but the sinner will be captured by her.

27 "Look," says the Teacher, "this I have discovered, by adding one thing to another to find out the explanation,

28 which my soul continually searches for but does not find: among a thousand [people] I have found one [true] man, but among all these I have not found a true woman.

29 Only see this: I have discovered that God made people upright, but they pursued many schemes."

English Standard Version ESV

1 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 the house of mourning than to go to the house of feasting, for this is the end of all mankind, and the living will lay it to heart.

3 Sorrow is better than laughter, for by sadness of face the heart is made glad.

4 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 for a man to hear the rebuke of the wise than to hear the song of fools.

6 For as the crackling of thorns under a pot, so is the laughter of the fools; this also is vanity.

7 Surely oppression drives the wise into madness, and a bribe corrupts the heart.

8 Better is the end of a thing than its beginning, and the patient in spirit is better than the proud in spirit.

9 Be not quick in your spirit to become angry, for anger lodges in the heart of fools.

10 Say not, “Why were the former days better than these? ”For it is not from wisdom that you ask this.

11 Wisdom is good with an inheritance, an advantage to those who see the sun.

12 For the protection of wisdom is like the protection of money, and the advantage of knowledge is that wisdom preserves the life of him who has it.

13 Consider the work of God: who can make straight what he has made crooked?

14 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 man may not find out anything that will be after him.

15 In my vain life I have seen everything. There is a righteous man who perishes in his righteousness, and there is a wicked man who prolongs his life in his evildoing.

16 Be not overly righteous, and do not make yourself too wise. Why should you destroy yourself?

17 Be not overly wicked, neither be a fool. Why should you die before your time?

18 It is good that you should take hold of this, and from that withhold not your hand, for the one who fears God shall come out from both of them.

19 Wisdom gives strength to the wise man more than ten rulers who are in a city.

20 Surely there is not a righteous man on earth who does good and never sins.

21 Do not take to heart all the things that people say, lest you hear your servant cursing you.

22 Your heart knows that many times you yourself have cursed others.

23 All this I have tested by wisdom. I said, “I will be wise, ” but it was far from me.

24 That which has been is far off, and deep, very deep; who can find it out?

25 I turned my heart to know and to search out and to seek wisdom and the scheme of things, and to know the wickedness of folly and the foolishness that is madness.

26 And I find something more bitter than death: the woman whose heart is snares and nets, and whose hands are fetters. He who pleases God escapes her, but the sinner is taken by her.

27 Behold, this is what I found, says the Preacher, while adding one thing to another to find the scheme of things—

28 which my soul 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, that God made man upright, but they have sought out many schemes.