Ecclesiastes Chapter 7 (NIV)
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WisdomA good name is better than fine perfume,and the day of death better than the day of birth.
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It is better to go to a house of mourningthan to go to a house of feasting,for death is the destiny of every man;the living should take this to heart.
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Sorrow is better than laughter,because a sad face is good for the heart.
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The heart of the wise is in the house of mourning,but the heart of fools is in the house of pleasure.
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It is better to heed a wise man’s rebukethan to listen to the song of fools.
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Like the crackling of thorns under the pot,so is the laughter of fools.This too is meaningless.
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Extortion turns a wise man into a fool,and a bribe corrupts the heart.
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The end of a matter is better than its beginning,and patience is better than pride.
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Do not be quickly provoked in your spirit,for anger resides in the lap of fools.
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Do not say, “Why were the old days better than these?”For it is not wise to ask such questions.
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Wisdom, like an inheritance, is a good thingand benefits those who see the sun.
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Wisdom is a shelteras money is a shelter,but the advantage of knowledge is this:that wisdom preserves the life of its possessor.
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Consider what God has done:Who can straightenwhat he has made crooked?
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When times are good, be happy;but when times are bad, consider:God has made the oneas well as the other.Therefore, a man cannot discoveranything about his future.
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In this meaningless life of mine I have seen both of these:a righteous man perishing in his righteousness,and a wicked man living long in his wickedness.
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Do not be overrighteous,neither be overwise—why destroy yourself?
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Do not be overwicked,and do not be a fool—why die before your time?
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It is good to grasp the oneand not let go of the other.The man who fears God will avoid all extremes.
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Wisdom makes one wise man more powerfulthan ten rulers in a city.
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There is not a righteous man on earthwho does what is right and never sins.
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Do not pay attention to every word people say,or you may hear your servant cursing you—
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for you know in your heartthat many times you yourself have cursed others.
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All this I tested by wisdom and I said,“I am determined to be wise”—but this was beyond me.
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Whatever wisdom may be,it is far off and most profound—who can discover it?
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So I turned my mind to understand,to investigate and to search out wisdom and the scheme of thingsand to understand the stupidity of wickednessand the madness of folly.
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I find more bitter than deaththe woman who is a snare,whose heart is a trapand whose hands are chains.The man who pleases God will escape her,but the sinner she will ensnare.
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“Look,” says the Teacher, “this is what I have discovered:“Adding one thing to another to discover the scheme of things—
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while I was still searchingbut not finding—I found one upright man among a thousand,but not one upright woman among them all.
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This only have I found:God made mankind upright,but men have gone in search of many schemes.”
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