Wisdom and Foolishness Contrasted
7 A good name is better than good [a]oil,
And the 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 [b]that is the end of every person,
And the living [c]takes it to [d]heart.
3 Sorrow is better than laughter,
For when a face is sad a heart may be happy.
4 The [e]mind of the wise is in the house of mourning,
While the [f]mind of fools is in the house of pleasure.
5 It is better to listen to the rebuke of a wise person
Than for one to listen to the song of fools.
6 For as the [g]crackling of thorn bushes under a pot,
So is the laughter of the fool;
And this too is futility.
7 For oppression makes a wise person look foolish,
And a bribe [h]corrupts the heart.
8 The end of a matter is better than its beginning;
Patience of spirit is better than arrogance of spirit.
9 Do not be [i]eager in your spirit to be angry,
For anger resides in the [j]heart 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 advantage to those who see the sun.
12 For wisdom is [k]protection just as money is [l]protection,
But the advantage of knowledge is that wisdom keeps its possessors alive.
13 Consider the work of God,
For who is able to straighten what He has bent?