| Holman Christian Standard Bible | International Standard Version |
| 1A good name is better than fine perfume, and the day of one's death than the day of one's birth. | 1A good name exceeds the value of fine perfume, and the day of someone's death exceeds the value of the day of his birth. |
| 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. | 2It's better to attend a funeral than to attend a banquet, for everyone dies eventually, and the living will take this to heart. |
| 3Grief is better than laughter, for when a face is sad, a heart may be glad. | 3Sorrow is better than laughter, because the heart is made better through trouble. |
| 4The heart of the wise is in a house of mourning, but the heart of fools is in a house of pleasure. | 4For the wise person thinks carefully when in mourning, but fools focus their thoughts on pleasure. |
| 5It is better to listen to rebuke from a wise person than to listen to the song of fools, | 5It is better to listen to a wise person's rebuke than to listen to the praise of fools. |
| 6for like the crackling of burning thorns under the pot, so is the laughter of the fool. This too is futile. | 6For as thorns burn to heat a pot, so also is the laughter of the fool— even this is pointless. |
| 7Surely, the practice of extortion turns a wise person into a fool, and a bribe destroys the mind. | 7Unjust gain makes the wise foolish, and a bribe corrupts the heart. |
| 8The end of a matter is better than its beginning; a patient spirit is better than a proud spirit. | 8The conclusion of something is better than its beginning, and a patient attitude is more valuable than a proud one. |
| 9Don't let your spirit rush to be angry, for anger abides in the heart of fools. | 9Never be in a hurry to become internally angry, since anger settles down in the lap of fools. |
| 10Don't say, "Why were the former days better than these?" since it is not wise of you to ask this. | 10Never ask "Why does the past seem so much better than now?" because this question does not come from wisdom. |
| 11Wisdom is as good as an inheritance and an advantage to those who see the sun, | 11Wise use of possessions is good; it brings benefit to the living. |
| 12because wisdom is protection as money is protection, and the advantage of knowledge is that wisdom preserves the life of its owner. | 12Indeed, wisdom gives protection, just like money does, but it's better to know that wisdom gives life, to those who have mastered it. |
| 13Consider the work of God, for who can straighten out what He has made crooked? | 13Consider the work of God: Who is able to straighten what he has bent? |
| 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. | 14When times are good, be joyful; when times are bad, consider this: God made the one as well as the other, so people won't seek anything outside of his best. |
| 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. | 15I have seen it all during my pointless life: both a righteous person who dies while he is righteous, and a wicked person who lives to an old age, while remaining wicked. |
| 16Don't be excessively righteous, and don't be overly wise. Why should you destroy yourself? | 16Do not be overly righteous, nor be overly wise. Why be self-destructive? |
| 17Don't be excessively wicked, and don't be foolish. Why should you die before your time? | 17Do not excel at wickedness, nor be a fool. Why die before your time? |
| 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. | 18It is good for you to grab hold of this and not let go, because whoever fears God will escape all of these extremes. |
| 19Wisdom makes the wise man stronger than ten rulers of a city. | 19Wisdom given as strength to a wise person is better than having ten powerful men in the city. |
| 20There is certainly no righteous man on the earth who does good and never sins. | 20For there is not a single righteous man on earth who practices good and does not sin. |
| 21Don't pay attention to everything people say, or you may hear your servant cursing you, | 21Don't listen to everything that is spoken— you may hear your servant cursing you, |
| 22for you know that many times you yourself have cursed others. | 22since you also know how often you have cursed others. |
| 23I have tested all this by wisdom. I resolved, "I will be wise," but it was beyond me. | 23I used my wisdom to test all of this. I said, "I want to be wise," but it was beyond me. |
| 24What exists is beyond reach and very deep. Who can discover it? | 24Whatever it is, it's far off and most profound. Who can attain it? |
| 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. | 25I committed myself to understand, to learn, to search for wisdom and explanations, and to understand both the evil that is foolishness and the stupidity that is delusion. |
| 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. " | 26I discovered for myself a bitterness that surpasses that of death: the woman whose heart is full of snares and nets, whose hands are chains of bondage. Whoever pleases God will escape from her, but the transgressor will be trapped by her. |
| 27Look," says the Teacher, "I have discovered this by adding one thing to another to find out the explanation, | 27"Look at this," says the Teacher. "Linking one thing to another, I reached this conclusion: |
| 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. | 28Among the things I seek but have not found: one man among a thousand I did find, but I have not found one woman to be wise among all these. |
| 29Only see this: I have discovered that God made people upright, but they pursued many schemes." | 29I have discovered only this: God made human beings for righteousness, but they seek many alternatives." |
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