A good name is better than fine perfume, and the day of death better than the day of birth. 1
It is better to go to a house of mourning than to go to a house of feasting, for death is the destiny of every man; the living should take this to heart. 2
Sorrow is better than laughter, because a sad face is good for the heart. 3
The heart of the wise is in the house of mourning, but the heart of fools is in the house of pleasure. 4
It is better to heed a wise man's rebuke than to listen to the song of fools. 5
Like the crackling of thorns under the pot, so is the laughter of fools. This too is meaningless. 6
Extortion turns a wise man into a fool, and a bribe corrupts the heart. 7
The end of a matter is better than its beginning, and patience is better than pride. 8
Do not be quickly provoked in your spirit, for anger resides in the lap of fools. 9
Do not say, "Why were the old days better than these?" For it is not wise to ask such questions. 10
Wisdom, like an inheritance, is a good thing and benefits those who see the sun. 11
Wisdom is a shelter as money is a shelter, but the advantage of knowledge is this: that wisdom preserves the life of its possessor. 12
Consider what God has done: Who can straighten what he has made crooked? 13
When times are good, be happy; but when times are bad, consider: God has made the one as well as the other. Therefore, a man cannot discover anything about his future. 14
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. 15
Do not be overrighteous, neither be overwise, why destroy yourself? 16
Do not be overwicked, and do not be a fool, why die before your time? 17
It is good to grasp the one and not let go of the other. The man who fears God will avoid all extremes . 18
Wisdom makes one wise man more powerful than ten rulers in a city. 19
There is not a righteous man on earth who does what is right and never sins. 20
Do not pay attention to every word people say, or you may hear your servant cursing you- 21
for you know in your heart that many times you yourself have cursed others. 22
All this I tested by wisdom and I said, "I am determined to be wise", but this was beyond me. 23
Whatever wisdom may be, it is far off and most profound, who can discover it? 24
So I turned my mind to understand, to investigate and to search out wisdom and the scheme of things and to understand the stupidity of wickedness and the madness of folly. 25
I find more bitter than death the woman who is a snare, whose heart is a trap and whose hands are chains. The man who pleases God will escape her, but the sinner she will ensnare. 26
"Look," says the Teacher, "this is what I have discovered: "Adding one thing to another to discover the scheme of things- 27
while I was still searching but not finding, I found one upright man among a thousand, but not one upright woman among them all. 28
This only have I found: God made mankind upright, but men have gone in search of many schemes." 29