77 lines
3.1 KiB
Markdown
77 lines
3.1 KiB
Markdown
# Chapter 7
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1 A good name is better than precious ointment,
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And the day of death than the day of one’s birth;
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2 Better to go to the house of mourning
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Than to go to the house of feasting,
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For that is the end of all men;
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And the living will take it to heart.
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3 Sorrow is better than laughter,
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For by a sad countenance the heart is made better.
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4 The heart of the wise is in the house of mourning,
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But the heart of fools is in the house of mirth.
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5 It is better to hear the rebuke of the wise
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Than for a man to hear the song of fools.
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6 For like the crackling of thorns under a pot,
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So is the laughter of the fool.
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This also is vanity.
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7 Surely oppression destroys a wise man’s reason,
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And a bribe debases the heart.
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8 The end of a thing is better than its beginning;
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The patient in spirit is better than the proud in spirit.
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9 Do not hasten in your spirit to be angry,
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For anger rests in the bosom of fools.
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10 Do not say,
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“Why were the former days better than these?”
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For you do not inquire wisely concerning this.
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11 Wisdom is good with an inheritance,
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And profitable to those who see the sun.
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12 For wisdom is a defense as money is a defense,
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But the excellence of knowledge is that wisdom gives life to those who have it.
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13 Consider the work of God;
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For who can make straight what He has made crooked?
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14 In the day of prosperity be joyful,
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But in the day of adversity consider:
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Surely God has appointed the one as well as the other,
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So that man can find out nothing that will come after him.
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15 I have seen everything in my days of vanity:
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There is a just man who perishes in his righteousness,
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And there is a wicked man who prolongs life in his wickedness.
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16 Do not be overly righteous,
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Nor be overly wise:
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Why should you destroy yourself?
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17 Do not be overly wicked,
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Nor be foolish:
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Why should you die before your time?
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18 It is good that you grasp this,
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And also not remove your hand from the other;
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For he who fears God will escape them all.
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19 Wisdom strengthens the wise
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More than ten rulers of the city.
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20 For there is not a just man on earth who does good
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And does not sin.
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21 Also do not take to heart everything people say,
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Lest you hear your servant cursing you.
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22 For many times, also, your own heart has known
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That even you have cursed others.
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23 All this I have proved by wisdom.
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I said, “I will be wise”;
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But it was far from me.
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24 As for that which is far off and exceedingly deep,
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Who can find it out?
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25 I applied my heart to know,
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To search and seek out wisdom and the reason of things,
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To know the wickedness of folly,
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Even of foolishness and madness.
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26 And I find more bitter than death
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The woman whose heart is snares and nets,
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Whose hands are fetters.
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He who pleases God shall escape from her,
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But the sinner shall be trapped by her.
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27 “Here is what I have found,” says the Preacher,
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“Adding one thing to the other to find out the reason,
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28 Which my soul still seeks but I cannot find:
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One man among a thousand I have found,
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But a woman among all these I have not found.
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29 Truly, this only I have found:
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That God made man upright,
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But they have sought out many schemes.” |