The Value of Practical Wisdom
1 Agood nameisbetter than precious ointment,
# And the day of death than the day of one’sbirth;
2 Better to go to the house of mourning
Than to go to the house of feasting,
For thatisthe end of all men;
# And the living will takeittoheart.
3 Sorrowisbetter than laughter,
# For by a sad countenance the heart is made better.
4 The heart of the wiseisin the house of mourning,
But the heart of foolsisin the house of mirth.
5 Itisbetter to hear the rebuke of the wise
Than for a man to hear the song of fools.
6 For like the crackling of thorns under a pot,
Soisthe laughter of the fool.
This also is vanity.
7 Surely oppression destroys a wiseman’sreason,
# And a bribe debases the heart.
8 The end of a thingisbetter than its beginning;
# The patient in spiritisbetter than the proud in spirit.
9 Do not hasten in your spirit to be angry,
For anger rests in the bosom of fools.
10 Do not say,
“Why were the former days better than these?”
For you do not inquire wisely concerning this.
11 Wisdomisgood with an inheritance,
# And profitableto those who see the sun.
12 For wisdomisadefenseasmoneyisa defense,
# But the excellence of knowledgeisthatwisdom giveslife to those who have it.
13 Consider the work of God;
# Forwho can make straight what He has made crooked?
14 In the day of prosperity be joyful,
But in the day of adversity consider:
Surely God has appointed the one as well as the other,
So that man can find out nothingthatwillcomeafter him.
15 I have seen everything in my days of vanity:
# There is a justmanwho perishes in his righteousness,
And there is a wickedmanwho prolongslifein his wickedness.
16 Do not be overly righteous,
# Nor be overly wise:
Why should you destroy yourself?
17 Do not be overly wicked,
Nor be foolish:
# Why should you die before your time?
18 Itisgood that you grasp this,
And also not remove your hand from the other;
# For he whofears God will escape them all.
19 Wisdom strengthens the wise
More than ten rulers of the city.
20 Forthereisnot a just man on earth who does good
And does not sin.
21 Also do not take to heart everything people say,
Lest you hear your servant cursing you.
22 For many times, also, your own heart has known
That even you have cursed others.
23 All this I have proved by wisdom.
# I said, “I will be wise”;
But itwasfar from me.
24 As for that which is far off andexceedingly deep,
Who can find it out?
25 I applied my heart to know,
To search and seek out wisdom and the reasonofthings,
To know the wickedness of folly,
Even of foolishnessandmadness.
26 And I find more bitter than death
The woman whose heartissnares and nets,
Whose handsarefetters.
He who pleases God shall escape from her,
But the sinner shall be trapped by her.
27 Here is what I have found,” saysthe Preacher,
“Addingone thing to the other to find out the reason,
28 Which my soul still seeks but I cannot find:
# One man among a thousand I have found,
But a woman among all these I have not found.
29 Truly, this only I have found:
# That God made man upright,
# Butthey have sought out many schemes.”