III.
The writer's searching and testing
7:1—12:12
A.
Words of wisdom
7:1—11:8
Eccl. 7
:1
7:1
A agood name is better than precious ointment,
And the day of death, than the day of one’s birth.
Eccl. 7
:2
7:2
It is better to go to the house of mourning
Than to go to the house of feasting,
Because that is the end of every man,
And the living takes it to heart.
Eccl. 7
:3
7:3
Sorrow is better than laughter,
For by the sadness of face the heart is made good.
Eccl. 7
:4
7:4
The heart of the wise is in the house of mourning,
But the heart of fools is in the house of mirth.
Eccl. 7
:5
7:5
It is better for one to hear the rebuke of a wise man
Than
for one to hear the song of fools.
Eccl. 7
:6
7:6
For as the crackling of thorns under a pot,
So is the laughter of fools.
This also is
1vanity.
Eccl. 7
:7
7:7
Surely oppression makes a wise man mad,
And a bribe destroys the heart.
Eccl. 7
:8
7:8
Better is the end of a thing than its beginning;
Better is patience of spirit than haughtiness of spirit.
Eccl. 7
:9
7:9
Do not be quick in your spirit to become
aangry,
For anger rests in the bosom of fools.
Eccl. 7
:10
7:10
Do not say, How is it that the former days were better than these?
For it is not from wisdom that you ask this.
Eccl. 7
:11
7:11
Wisdom is as good as an inheritance,
And an advantage to those who see the sun.
Eccl. 7
:12
7:12
For wisdom is a defense, as money is a defense;
But the advantage of knowledge is that wisdom preserves the life of those who have it.
Eccl. 7
:13
7:13
Consider the work of God,
For who can straighten what He has made
acrooked?
Eccl. 7
:14
7:14
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 about what is after him.
Eccl. 7
:15
7:15
I have seen everything in my days of vanity: There is a righteous man who perishes in his righteousness, and there is a wicked man who prolongs
his life in his wickedness.
Eccl. 7
:16
7:16
Do not be overly righteous, and do not be overly wise; why should you destroy yourself?
Eccl. 7
:17
7:17
Do not be overly wicked, and do not be a fool; why should you die when it is
anot your time?
Eccl. 7
:18
7:18
It is better for you to take hold of the one without letting go of the other, for he who fears God will come out
of it with them all.
Eccl. 7
:19
7:19
Wisdom strengthens the wise man more than ten rulers who are in a city.
Eccl. 7
:20
7:20
Surely there is not a righteous man on the earth who does good and does not
asin.
Eccl. 7
:21
7:21
Also, do not give heed to all words spoken, lest you hear your servant cursing you.
Eccl. 7
:22
7:22
For your heart knows that many times you yourself have cursed others also.
Eccl. 7
:23
7:23
All this I have tested by wisdom; I said, I will be wise; but it was far from me.
Eccl. 7
:24
7:24
That which is, is far off, and deep, very deep; who can find it out?
Eccl. 7
:25
7:25
I turned and my heart
was set to know and to search and seek out wisdom and the sum
of things, and to know that wickedness is folly and that foolishness is madness.
Eccl. 7
:26
7:26
And I found more bitter than death the woman whose heart is traps and snares, whose hands are fetters. One who is well-pleasing to God escapes from her, but the sinner is taken by her.
Eccl. 7
:27
7:27
See, this is what I have found, says the Preacher,
adding one thing to another to find the sum,
Eccl. 7
:28
7:28
Which my soul is still seeking but has not found. One man among a thousand I have found, but a woman among all these I have not found.
Eccl. 7
:29
7:29
See, this alone have I found, that God made
aman upright, but they have sought out many schemes.
