| New King James Version | NET Bible |
| 1A good name is better than precious ointment, And the day of death than the day of one’s birth; | 1A good reputation is better than precious perfume; likewise, the day of one's death is better than the day of one's birth. |
| 2Better to go to the house of mourning Than to go to the house of feasting, For that is the end of all men; And the living will take it to heart. | 2It is better to go to a funeral than a feast. For death is the destiny of every person, and the living should take this to heart. |
| 3Sorrow is better than laughter, For by a sad countenance the heart is made better. | 3Sorrow is better than laughter, because sober reflection is good for the heart. |
| 4The heart of the wise is in the house of mourning, But the heart of fools is in the house of mirth. | 4The heart of the wise is in the house of mourning, but the heart of fools is in the house of merrymaking. |
| 5It is better to hear the rebuke of the wise Than for a man to hear the song of fools. | 5It is better for a person to receive a rebuke from those who are wise than to listen to the song of fools. |
| 6For like the crackling of thorns under a pot, So is the laughter of the fool. This also is vanity. | 6For like the crackling of quick-burning thorns under a cooking pot, so is the laughter of the fool. This kind of folly also is useless. |
| 7Surely oppression destroys a wise man’s reason, And a bribe debases the heart. | 7Surely oppression can turn a wise person into a fool; likewise, a bribe corrupts the heart. |
| 8The end of a thing is better than its beginning; The patient in spirit is better than the proud in spirit. | 8The end of a matter is better than its beginning; likewise, patience is better than pride. |
| 9Do not hasten in your spirit to be angry, For anger rests in the bosom of fools. | 9Do not let yourself be quickly provoked, for anger resides in the lap of fools. |
| 10Do not say, “Why were the former days better than these?” For you do not inquire wisely concerning this. | 10Do not say, "Why were the old days better than these days?" for it is not wise to ask that. |
| 11Wisdom is good with an inheritance, And profitable to those who see the sun. | 11Wisdom, like an inheritance, is a good thing; it benefits those who see the light of day. |
| 12For wisdom is a defense as money is a defense, But the excellence of knowledge is that wisdom gives life to those who have it. | 12For wisdom provides protection, just as money provides protection. But the advantage of knowledge is this: Wisdom preserves the life of its owner. |
| 13Consider the work of God; For who can make straight what He has made crooked? | 13Consider the work of God: For who can make straight what he has bent? |
| 14In the day of prosperity be joyful, But in the day of adversity consider: Surely God has appointed the one as well as the other, So that man can find out nothing that will come after him. | 14In times of prosperity be joyful, but in times of adversity consider this: God has made one as well as the other, so that no one can discover what the future holds. |
| 15I have seen everything in my days of vanity: There is a just man who perishes in his righteousness, And there is a wicked man who prolongs life in his wickedness. | 15During the days of my fleeting life I have seen both of these things: Sometimes a righteous person dies prematurely in spite of his righteousness, and sometimes a wicked person lives long in spite of his evil deeds. |
| 16Do not be overly righteous, Nor be overly wise: Why should you destroy yourself? | 16So do not be excessively righteous or excessively wise; otherwise you might be disappointed. |
| 17Do not be overly wicked, Nor be foolish: Why should you die before your time? | 17Do not be excessively wicked and do not be a fool; otherwise you might die before your time. |
| 18It is good that you grasp this, And also not remove your hand from the other; For he who fears God will escape them all. | 18It is best to take hold of one warning without letting go of the other warning; for the one who fears God will follow both warnings. |
| 19Wisdom strengthens the wise More than ten rulers of the city. | 19Wisdom gives a wise person more protection than ten rulers in a city. |
| 20For there is not a just man on earth who does good And does not sin. | 20For there is not one truly righteous person on the earth who continually does good and never sins. |
| 21Also do not take to heart everything people say, Lest you hear your servant cursing you. | 21Also, do not pay attention to everything that people say; otherwise, you might even hear your servant cursing you. |
| 22For many times, also, your own heart has known That even you have cursed others. | 22For you know in your own heart that you also have cursed others many times. |
| 23All this I have proved by wisdom. I said, “I will be wise”; But it was far from me. | 23I have examined all this by wisdom; I said, "I am determined to comprehend this"--but it was beyond my grasp. |
| 24As for that which is far off and exceedingly deep, Who can find it out? | 24Whatever has happened is beyond human understanding; it is far deeper than anyone can fathom. |
| 25I applied my heart to know, To search and seek out wisdom and the reason of things, To know the wickedness of folly, Even of foolishness and madness. | 25I tried to understand, examine, and comprehend the role of wisdom in the scheme of things, and to understand the stupidity of wickedness and the insanity of folly. |
| 26And I find more bitter than death The woman whose heart is snares and nets, Whose hands are fetters. He who pleases God shall escape from her, But the sinner shall be trapped by her. | 26I discovered this: More bitter than death is the kind of woman who is like a hunter's snare; her heart is like a hunter's net and her hands are like prison chains. The man who pleases God escapes her, but the sinner is captured by her. |
| 27“Here is what I have found,” says the Preacher, “Adding one thing to the other to find out the reason, | 27The Teacher says: I discovered this while trying to discover the scheme of things, item by item. |
| 28Which my soul still seeks but I cannot find: One man among a thousand I have found, But a woman among all these I have not found. | 28What I have continually sought, I have not found; I have found only one upright man among a thousand, but I have not found one upright woman among all of them. |
| 29Truly, this only I have found: That God made man upright, But they have sought out many schemes.” | 29This alone have I discovered: God made humankind upright, but they have sought many evil schemes. |
|
