New Living Translation

Holman Christian Standard Bible

1A good reputation is more valuable than costly perfume. And the day you die is better than the day you are born.

1A good name is better than fine perfume, and the day of one's death than the day of one's birth.

2Better to spend your time at funerals than at parties. After all, everyone dies— so the living should take this to heart.

2It is better to go to a house of mourning than to go to a house of feasting, since that is the end of all mankind, and the living should take it to heart.

3Sorrow is better than laughter, for sadness has a refining influence on us.

3Grief is better than laughter, for when a face is sad, a heart may be glad.

4A wise person thinks a lot about death, while a fool thinks only about having a good time.

4The heart of the wise is in a house of mourning, but the heart of fools is in a house of pleasure.

5Better to be criticized by a wise person than to be praised by a fool.

5It is better to listen to rebuke from a wise person than to listen to the song of fools,

6A fool’s laughter is quickly gone, like thorns crackling in a fire. This also is meaningless.

6for like the crackling of burning thorns under the pot, so is the laughter of the fool. This too is futile.

7Extortion turns wise people into fools, and bribes corrupt the heart.

7Surely, the practice of extortion turns a wise person into a fool, and a bribe destroys the mind.

8Finishing is better than starting. Patience is better than pride.

8The end of a matter is better than its beginning; a patient spirit is better than a proud spirit.

9Control your temper, for anger labels you a fool.

9Don't let your spirit rush to be angry, for anger abides in the heart of fools.

10Don’t long for “the good old days.” This is not wise.

10Don't say, "Why were the former days better than these?" since it is not wise of you to ask this.

11Wisdom is even better when you have money. Both are a benefit as you go through life.

11Wisdom is as good as an inheritance and an advantage to those who see the sun,

12Wisdom and money can get you almost anything, but only wisdom can save your life.

12because wisdom is protection as money is protection, and the advantage of knowledge is that wisdom preserves the life of its owner.

13Accept the way God does things, for who can straighten what he has made crooked?

13Consider the work of God, for who can straighten out what He has made crooked?

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

14In the day of prosperity be joyful, but in the day of adversity, consider: God has made the one as well as the other, so that man cannot discover anything that will come after him.

15I have seen everything in this meaningless life, including the death of good young people and the long life of wicked people.

15In my futile life I have seen everything: there is a righteous man who perishes in spite of his righteousness, and there is a wicked man who lives long in spite of his evil.

16So don’t be too good or too wise! Why destroy yourself?

16Don't be excessively righteous, and don't be overly wise. Why should you destroy yourself?

17On the other hand, don’t be too wicked either. Don’t be a fool! Why die before your time?

17Don't be excessively wicked, and don't be foolish. Why should you die before your time?

18Pay attention to these instructions, for anyone who fears God will avoid both extremes.

18It is good that you grasp the one and do not let the other slip from your hand. For the one who fears God will end up with both of them.

19One wise person is stronger than ten leading citizens of a town!

19Wisdom makes the wise man stronger than ten rulers of a city.

20Not a single person on earth is always good and never sins.

20There is certainly no righteous man on the earth who does good and never sins.

21Don’t eavesdrop on others—you may hear your servant curse you.

21Don't pay attention to everything people say, or you may hear your servant cursing you,

22For you know how often you yourself have cursed others.

22for you know that many times you yourself have cursed others.

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.

23I have tested all this by wisdom. I resolved, "I will be wise," but it was beyond me.

24Wisdom is always distant and difficult to find.

24What exists is beyond reach and very deep. Who can discover it?

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.

25I turned my thoughts to know, explore, and seek wisdom and an explanation for things, and to know that wickedness is stupidity and folly is madness.

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.

26And I find more bitter than death the woman who is a trap, her heart a net, and her hands chains. The one who pleases God will escape her, but the sinner will be captured by her. "

27“This is my conclusion,” says the Teacher. “I discovered this after looking at the matter from every possible angle.

27Look," says the Teacher, "I have discovered this by adding one thing to another to find out the explanation,

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!

28which my soul continually searches for but does not find: among a thousand people I have found one true man, but among all these I have not found a true woman.

29But I did find this: God created people to be virtuous, but they have each turned to follow their own downward path.”

29Only see this: I have discovered that God made people upright, but they pursued many schemes."

Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

Holman Christian Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1999, 2000, 2002, 2003, 2009 by Holman Bible Publishers. Used by permission.