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Wisdom and Folly Contrasted

¹ A ^(C1)good name is better than a good ointment,
And the ^(C2)day of one's death is better 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,
Because ^(F1)that is the ^(C1)end of every man,
And the living ^(F2)(C2)takes it to ^(F3)heart.

^3 (C1)Sorrow is better than laughter,
For ^(C2)when a face is sad a heart may be happy.

⁴ The ^(F1)mind of the wise is in the house of mourning,
While the ^(F1)mind of fools is in the house of pleasure.

⁵ It is better to ^(C1)listen to the rebuke of a wise man
Than for one to listen to the song of fools.

⁶ For as the ^(F1)crackling of ^(C1)thorn bushes under a pot,
So is the ^(C2)laughter of the fool;
And this too is futility.

⁷ For ^(C1)oppression makes a wise man mad,
And a ^(C2)bribe ^(F1)corrupts the heart.

⁸ The ^(C1)end of a matter is better than its beginning;
^(C2)Patience of spirit is better than haughtiness of spirit.

⁹ Do not be ^(F1)(C1)eager in your heart to be angry,
For anger resides in the bosom of fools.

¹⁰ Do not say, "Why is it that the former days were better than these?"
For it is not from wisdom that you ask about this.

¹¹ Wisdom along with an inheritance is good
And an ^(C1)advantage to those who see the sun.

¹² For ^(C1)wisdom is ^(F1)protection just as money is ^(F1)protection,
But the advantage of knowledge is that ^(C2)wisdom preserves the lives of its possessors.

¹³ Consider the ^(C1)work of God,
For who is ^(C2)able to straighten what He has bent?

^14 (C1)In the day of prosperity be happy,
But ^(C2)in the day of adversity consider--
God has made the one as well as the other
So that man will ^(C3)not discover anything that will be after him.

¹⁵ I have seen everything during my ^(F1)(C1)lifetime of futility; there is ^(C2)a righteous man who perishes in his righteousness and there is ^(C3)a wicked man who prolongs his life in his wickedness.¹⁶ Do not be excessively ^(C1)righteous and do not ^(C2)be overly wise. Why should you ruin yourself?¹⁷ Do not be excessively wicked and do not be a fool. Why should you ^(C1)die before your time?¹⁸ It is good that you grasp one thing and also not ^(F1)let go of the other; for the one who ^(C1)fears God comes forth with ^(F2)both of them.

^19 (C1)Wisdom strengthens a wise man more than ten rulers who are in a city.²⁰ Indeed, ^(C1)there is not a righteous man on earth who continually does good and who never sins.²¹ Also, do not ^(F1)take seriously all words which are spoken, so that you will not hear your servant ^(C1)cursing you.²² For ^(F1)you also have realized that you likewise have many times cursed others.

²³ I tested all this with wisdom, and I said, "I will be wise," ^(C1)but it was far from me.²⁴ What has been is remote and ^(C1)exceedingly ^(F1)mysterious. ^(C2)Who can discover it?²⁵ I ^(F1)(C1)directed my ^(F2)mind to know, to investigate and to seek wisdom and an explanation, and to know the evil of folly and the foolishness of madness.²⁶ And I discovered more ^(C1)bitter than death the woman whose heart is ^(C2)snares and nets, whose hands are chains. ^(C3)One who is pleasing to God will escape from her, but ^(C4)the sinner will be captured by her.

²⁷ "Behold, I have discovered this," says the Preacher, "adding one thing to another to find an explanation,²⁸ which ^(F1)I am still seeking but have not found. I have found one man among a thousand, but I have not found a ^(C1)woman among all these.²⁹ "Behold, I have found only this, that ^(C1)God made men upright, but they have sought out many devices."