| Berean Study Bible | New Living Translation |
| 1A good name is better than fine perfume, and one’s day of death is better than his day of birth. | 1A good reputation is more valuable than costly perfume. And the day you die is better than the day you are born. |
| 2It is better to enter a house of mourning than a house of feasting, since death is the end of every man, and the living should take this to heart. | 2Better to spend your time at funerals than at parties. After all, everyone dies— so the living should take this to heart. |
| 3Sorrow is better than laughter, for a sad countenance is good for the heart. | 3Sorrow is better than laughter, for sadness has a refining influence on us. |
| 4The heart of the wise is in the house of mourning, but the heart of fools is in the house of pleasure. | 4A wise person thinks a lot about death, while a fool thinks only about having a good time. |
| 5It is better to heed a wise man’s rebuke than to listen to the song of fools. | 5Better to be criticized by a wise person than to be praised by a fool. |
| 6For like the crackling of thorns under the pot, so is the laughter of the fool. This too is futile. | 6A fool’s laughter is quickly gone, like thorns crackling in a fire. This also is meaningless. |
| 7Surely extortion turns a wise man into a fool, and a bribe corrupts the heart. | 7Extortion turns wise people into fools, and bribes corrupt the heart. |
| 8The end of a matter is better than the beginning, and a patient spirit is better than a proud one. | 8Finishing is better than starting. Patience is better than pride. |
| 9Do not be quickly provoked in your spirit, for anger settles in the lap of a fool. | 9Control your temper, for anger labels you a fool. |
| 10Do not say, “Why were the old days better than these?” For it is unwise of you to ask about this. | 10Don’t long for “the good old days.” This is not wise. |
| 11Wisdom, like an inheritance, is good, and it benefits those who see the sun. | 11Wisdom is even better when you have money. Both are a benefit as you go through life. |
| 12For wisdom, like money, is a shelter, and the advantage of knowledge is that wisdom preserves the life of its owner. | 12Wisdom and money can get you almost anything, but only wisdom can save your life. |
| 13Consider the work of God: Who can straighten what He has bent? | 13Accept the way God does things, for who can straighten what he has made crooked? |
| 14In the day of prosperity, be joyful, but in the day of adversity, consider this: God has made one of these along with the other, so that a man cannot discover anything that will come after him. | 14Enjoy prosperity while you can, but when hard times strike, realize that both come from God. Remember that nothing is certain in this life. The Limits of Human Wisdom |
| 15In my futile life I have seen both of these: A righteous man perishing in his righteousness, and a wicked man living long in his wickedness. | 15I have seen everything in this meaningless life, including the death of good young people and the long life of wicked people. |
| 16Do not be overly righteous, and do not make yourself too wise. Why should you destroy yourself? | 16So don’t be too good or too wise! Why destroy yourself? |
| 17Do not be excessively wicked, and do not be a fool. Why should you die before your time? | 17On the other hand, don’t be too wicked either. Don’t be a fool! Why die before your time? |
| 18It is good to grasp the one and not let the other slip from your hand. For he who fears God will follow both warnings. | 18Pay attention to these instructions, for anyone who fears God will avoid both extremes. |
| 19Wisdom makes the wise man stronger than ten rulers in a city. | 19One wise person is stronger than ten leading citizens of a town! |
| 20Surely there is no righteous man on earth who does good and never sins. | 20Not a single person on earth is always good and never sins. |
| 21Do not pay attention to every word that is spoken, or you may hear your servant cursing you. | 21Don’t eavesdrop on others—you may hear your servant curse you. |
| 22For you know in your heart that many times you yourself have cursed others. | 22For you know how often you yourself have cursed others. |
| 23All this I tested by wisdom, saying, “I resolve to be wise.” But it was beyond me. | 23I have always tried my best to let wisdom guide my thoughts and actions. I said to myself, “I am determined to be wise.” But it didn’t work. |
| 24What exists is out of reach and very deep. Who can fathom it? | 24Wisdom is always distant and difficult to find. |
| 25I directed my mind to understand, to explore, to search out wisdom and explanations, and to understand the stupidity of wickedness and the folly of madness. | 25I searched everywhere, determined to find wisdom and to understand the reason for things. I was determined to prove to myself that wickedness is stupid and that foolishness is madness. |
| 26And I find more bitter than death the woman who is a snare, whose heart is a net, and whose hands are chains. The man who pleases God escapes her, but the sinner is ensnared. | 26I discovered that a seductive woman is a trap more bitter than death. Her passion is a snare, and her soft hands are chains. Those who are pleasing to God will escape her, but sinners will be caught in her snare. |
| 27“Behold,” says the Teacher, “I have discovered this by adding one thing to another to find an explanation. | 27“This is my conclusion,” says the Teacher. “I discovered this after looking at the matter from every possible angle. |
| 28While my soul was still searching but not finding, among a thousand I have found one upright man, but among all these I have not found one such woman. | 28Though I have searched repeatedly, I have not found what I was looking for. Only one out of a thousand men is virtuous, but not one woman! |
| 29Only this have I found: I have discovered that God made men upright, but they have sought out many schemes.” | 29But I did find this: God created people to be virtuous, but they have each turned to follow their own downward path.” |
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