New Revised Standard NRS
The Bible in Basic English BBE
1 A good name is better than precious ointment, and the day of death, than the day of birth.
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A good name is better than oil of great price, 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 everyone, and the living will lay it to heart.
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It is better to go to the house of weeping, than to go to the house of feasting; because that is the end of every man, and the living will take it to their hearts.
3 Sorrow is better than laughter, for by sadness of countenance the heart is made glad.
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Sorrow is better than joy; when the face is sad the mind gets better.
4 The heart of the wise is in the house of mourning; but the heart of fools is in the house of mirth.
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The hearts of the wise are in the house of weeping; but the hearts of the foolish are in the house of joy.
5 It is better to hear the rebuke of the wise than to hear the song of fools.
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It is better to take note of the protest of the wise, than for a man to give ear to the song of the foolish.
6 For like the crackling of thorns under a pot, so is the laughter of fools; this also is vanity.
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Like the cracking of thorns under a pot, so is the laugh of a foolish man; and this again is to no purpose.
7 Surely oppression makes the wise foolish, and a bribe corrupts the heart.
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The wise are troubled by the ways of the cruel, and the giving of money is the destruction of the heart.
8 Better is the end of a thing than its beginning; the patient in spirit are better than the proud in spirit.
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The end of a thing is better than its start, and a gentle spirit is better than pride.
9 Do not be quick to anger, for anger lodges in the bosom of fools.
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Be not quick to let your spirit be angry; because wrath is in the heart of the foolish.
10 Do not say, "Why were the former days better than these?" For it is not from wisdom that you ask this.
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Say not, Why were the days which have gone by better than these? Such a question comes not from wisdom.
11 Wisdom is as good as an inheritance, an advantage to those who see the sun.
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Wisdom together with a heritage is good, and a profit 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 gives life to the one who possesses it.
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Wisdom keeps a man from danger even as money does; but the value of knowledge is that wisdom gives life to its owner.
13 Consider the work of God; who can make straight what he has made crooked?
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Give thought to the work of God. Who will make straight what he has made bent?
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 mortals may not find out anything that will come after them.
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In the day of wealth have joy, but in the day of evil take thought: God has put the one against the other, so that man may not be certain what will be after him.
15 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.
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These two have I seen in my life which is to no purpose: a good man coming to his end in his righteousness, and an evil man whose days are long in his evil-doing.
16 Do not be too righteous, and do not act too wise; why should you destroy yourself?
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Be not given overmuch to righteousness and be not over-wise. Why let destruction come on you?
17 Do not be too wicked, and do not be a fool; why should you die before your time?
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Be not evil overmuch, and be not foolish. Why come to your end before your time?
18 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.
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It is good to take this in your hand and not to keep your hand from that; he who has the fear of God will be free of the two.
19 Wisdom gives strength to the wise more than ten rulers that are in a city.
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Wisdom makes a wise man stronger than ten rulers in a town.
20 Surely there is no one on earth so righteous as to do good without ever sinning.
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There is no man on earth of such righteousness that he does good and is free from sin all his days.
21 Do not give heed to everything that people say, or you may hear your servant cursing you;
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Do not give ear to all the words which men say, for fear of hearing the curses of your servant.
22 your heart knows that many times you have yourself cursed others.
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Your heart has knowledge how frequently others have been cursed by you.
23 All this I have tested by wisdom; I said, "I will be wise," but it was far from me.
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All this I have put to the test by wisdom; I said, I will be wise, but it was far from me.
24 That which is, is far off, and deep, very deep; who can find it out?
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Far off is true existence, and very deep; who may have knowledge of it?
25 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.
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I gave my mind to knowledge and to searching for wisdom and the reason of things, and to the discovery that sin is foolish, and that to be foolish is to be without one's senses.
26 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.
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And I saw a thing more bitter than death, even the woman whose heart is full of tricks and nets, and whose hands are as bands. He with whom God is pleased will get free from her, but the sinner will be taken by her.
27 See, this is what I found, says the Teacher, adding one thing to another to find the sum,
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Look! this I have seen, said the Preacher, taking one thing after another to get the true account,
28 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.
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For which my soul is still searching, but I have it not; one man among a thousand have I seen; but a woman among all these I have not seen.
29 See, this alone I found, that God made human beings straightforward, but they have devised many schemes.
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This only have I seen, that God made men upright, but they have been searching out all sorts of inventions.
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.
The Bible in Basic English is in the public domain.