Ecclesiastes 7 (YLT)

¹Better `is' a name than good perfume, And the day of death than the day of birth.

²Better to go unto a house of mourning, Than to go unto a house of banqueting, For that is the end of all men, And the living layeth `it' unto his heart.

³Better `is' sorrow than laughter, For by the sadness of the face the heart becometh better.

⁴The heart of the wise `is' in a house of mourning, And the heart of fools in a house of mirth.

⁵Better to hear a rebuke of a wise man, Than `for' a man to hear a song of fools,

⁶For as the noise of thorns under the pot, So `is' the laughter of a fool, even this `is' vanity.

⁷Surely oppression maketh the wise mad, And a gift destroyeth the heart.

⁸Better `is' the latter end of a thing than its beginning, Better `is' the patient of spirit, than the haughty of spirit.

⁹Be not hasty in thy spirit to be angry, For anger in the bosom of fools resteth.

¹⁰Say not thou, `What was it, That the former days were better than these?' For thou hast not asked wisely of this.

¹¹Wisdom `is' good with an inheritance, And an advantage `it is' to those beholding the sun.

¹²For wisdom `is' a defense, money `is' a defence, And the advantage of the knowledge of wisdom `is', She reviveth her possessors.

¹³See the work of God, For who is able to make straight that which He made crooked?

¹⁴In a day of prosperity be in gladness, And in a day of evil consider. Also this over-against that hath God made, To the intent that man doth not find anything after him.

¹⁵The whole I have considered in the days of my vanity. There is a righteous one perishing in his righteousness, and there is a wrong-doer prolonging `himself' in his wrong.

¹⁶Be not over-righteous, nor show thyself too wise, why art thou desolate?

¹⁷Do not much wrong, neither be thou a fool, why dost thou die within thy time?

¹⁸`It is' good that thou dost lay hold on this, and also, from that withdrawest not thy hand, for whoso is fearing God goeth out with them all.

¹⁹The wisdom giveth strength to a wise man, more than wealth the rulers who have been in a city.

²⁰Because there is not a righteous man on earth that doth good and sinneth not.

²¹Also to all the words that they speak give not thy heart, that thou hear not thy servant reviling thee.

²²For many times also hath thy heart known that thou thyself also hast reviled others.

²³All this I have tried by wisdom; I have said, `I am wise,' and it `is' far from me.

²⁴Far off `is' that which hath been, and deep, deep, who doth find it?

²⁵I have turned round, also my heart, to know and to search, and to seek out wisdom, and reason, and to know the wrong of folly, and of foolishness the madness.

²⁶And I am finding more bitter than death, the woman whose heart `is' nets and snares, her hands `are' bands; the good before God escapeth from her, but the sinner is captured by her.

²⁷See, this I have found, said the Preacher, one to one, to find out the reason

²⁸(that still my soul had sought, and I had not found), One man, a teacher, I have found, and a woman among all these I have not found.

²⁹See, this alone I have found, that God made man upright, and they -- they have sought out many devices.