Font Size
Ecclesiastes 7
New Century Version
Ecclesiastes 7
New Century Version
Some Benefits of Serious Thinking
7 It is better to have respect than good perfume.
The day of death is better than the day of birth.
2 It is better to go to a funeral
than to a party.
We all must die,
and everyone living should think about this.
3 Sorrow is better than laughter,
and sadness has a good influence on you.
4 A wise person thinks about death,
but a fool thinks only about having a good time.
5 It is better to be criticized by a wise person
than to be praised by a fool.
6 The laughter of fools
is like the crackling of thorns in a cooking fire.
Both are useless.
7 Even wise people are fools
if they let money change their thinking.
8 It is better to finish something
than to start it.
It is better to be patient
than to be proud.
9 Don’t become angry quickly,
because getting angry is foolish.
10 Don’t ask, “Why was life better in the ‘good old days’?”
It is not wise to ask such questions.
11 Wisdom is better when it comes with money.
They both help those who are alive.
12 Wisdom is like money:
they both help.
But wisdom is better,
because it can save whoever has it.
13 Look at what God has done:
No one can straighten what he has bent.
14 When life is good, enjoy it.
But when life is hard, remember:
God gives good times and hard times,
and no one knows what tomorrow will bring.
It Is Impossible to Be Truly Good
15 In my useless life I have seen both of these:
I have seen good people die in spite of their goodness
and evil people live a long time in spite of their evil.
16 Don’t be too right,
and don’t be too wise.
Why destroy yourself?
17 Don’t be too wicked,
and don’t be foolish.
Why die before your time?
18 It is good to grab the one and not let go of the other;
those who honor God will hold them both.
19 Wisdom makes a person stronger
than ten leaders in a city.
20 Surely there is not a good person on earth
who always does good and never sins.
21 Don’t listen to everything people say,
or you might hear your servant insulting you.
22 You know that many times
you have insulted others.
23 I used wisdom to test all these things.
I wanted to be wise,
but it was too hard for me.
24 I cannot understand why things are as they are.
It is too hard for anyone to understand.
25 I studied and tried very hard to find wisdom,
to find some meaning for everything.
I learned that it is foolish to be evil,
and it is crazy to act like a fool.
26 I found that some women are worse than death
and are as dangerous as traps.
Their love is like a net,
and their arms hold men like chains.
A man who pleases God will be saved from them,
but a sinner will be caught by them.
27 The Teacher says, “This is what I learned:
I added all these things together
to find some meaning for everything.
28 While I was searching,
I did not find one man among the thousands I found.
Nor did I find a woman among all these.
29 One thing I have learned:
God made people good,
but they have found all kinds of ways to be bad.”
Ecclesiastes 7
New International Version
Ecclesiastes 7
New International Version
Wisdom
7 A good name is better than fine perfume,(A)
and the day of death better than the day of birth.(B)
2 It is better to go to a house of mourning
than to go to a house of feasting,
for death(C) is the destiny(D) of everyone;
the living should take this to heart.
3 Frustration is better than laughter,(E)
because a sad face is good for the heart.
4 The heart of the wise is in the house of mourning,
but the heart of fools is in the house of pleasure.(F)
5 It is better to heed the rebuke(G) of a wise person
than to listen to the song of fools.
6 Like the crackling of thorns(H) under the pot,
so is the laughter(I) of fools.
This too is meaningless.
7 Extortion turns a wise person into a fool,
and a bribe(J) corrupts the heart.
8 The end of a matter is better than its beginning,
and patience(K) is better than pride.
9 Do not be quickly provoked(L) in your spirit,
for anger resides in the lap of fools.(M)
10 Do not say, “Why were the old days(N) better than these?”
For it is not wise to ask such questions.
11 Wisdom, like an inheritance, is a good thing(O)
and benefits those who see the sun.(P)
12 Wisdom is a shelter
as money is a shelter,
but the advantage of knowledge is this:
Wisdom preserves those who have it.
13 Consider what God has done:(Q)
Who can straighten
what he has made crooked?(R)
14 When times are good, be happy;
but when times are bad, consider this:
God has made the one
as well as the other.(S)
Therefore, no one can discover
anything about their future.
15 In this meaningless life(T) of mine I have seen both of these:
the righteous perishing in their righteousness,
and the wicked living long in their wickedness.(U)
16 Do not be overrighteous,
neither be overwise—
why destroy yourself?
17 Do not be overwicked,
and do not be a fool—
why die before your time?(V)
18 It is good to grasp the one
and not let go of the other.
Whoever fears God(W) will avoid all extremes.[a]
20 Indeed, there is no one on earth who is righteous,(Z)
no one who does what is right and never sins.(AA)
21 Do not pay attention to every word people say,
or you(AB) may hear your servant cursing you—
22 for you know in your heart
that many times you yourself have cursed others.
23 All this I tested by wisdom and I said,
“I am determined to be wise”(AC)—
but this was beyond me.
24 Whatever exists is far off and most profound—
who can discover it?(AD)
25 So I turned my mind to understand,
to investigate and to search out wisdom and the scheme of things(AE)
and to understand the stupidity of wickedness
and the madness of folly.(AF)
26 I find more bitter than death
the woman who is a snare,(AG)
whose heart is a trap
and whose hands are chains.
The man who pleases God will escape her,
but the sinner she will ensnare.(AH)
27 “Look,” says the Teacher,[b](AI) “this is what I have discovered:
“Adding one thing to another to discover the scheme of things—
28 while I was still searching
but not finding—
I found one upright man among a thousand,
but not one upright woman(AJ) among them all.
29 This only have I found:
God created mankind upright,
but they have gone in search of many schemes.”
Footnotes
- Ecclesiastes 7:18 Or will follow them both
- Ecclesiastes 7:27 Or the leader of the assembly
New Century Version (NCV) 
The Holy Bible, New Century Version®. Copyright © 2005 by Thomas Nelson, Inc.
New International Version (NIV) 
Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
NIV Reverse Interlinear Bible: English to Hebrew and English to Greek. Copyright © 2019 by Zondervan.