| New International Version | Holman Christian Standard Bible |
| 1A good name is better than fine perfume, and the day of death better than the day of birth. | 1A good name is better than fine perfume, and the day of one's death than the day of one's birth. |
| 2It is better to go to a house of mourning than to go to a house of feasting, for death is the destiny of everyone; the living should take this to heart. | 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. |
| 3Frustration is better than laughter, because a sad face is good for the heart. | 3Grief is better than laughter, for when a face is sad, a heart may be glad. |
| 4The heart of the wise is in the house of mourning, but the heart of fools is in the house of pleasure. | 4The heart of the wise is in a house of mourning, but the heart of fools is in a house of pleasure. |
| 5It is better to heed the rebuke of a wise person than to listen to the song of fools. | 5It is better to listen to rebuke from a wise person than to listen to the song of fools, |
| 6Like the crackling of thorns under the pot, so is the laughter of fools. This too is meaningless. | 6for like the crackling of burning thorns under the pot, so is the laughter of the fool. This too is futile. |
| 7Extortion turns a wise person into a fool, and a bribe corrupts the heart. | 7Surely, the practice of extortion turns a wise person into a fool, and a bribe destroys the mind. |
| 8The end of a matter is better than its beginning, and patience is better than pride. | 8The end of a matter is better than its beginning; a patient spirit is better than a proud spirit. |
| 9Do not be quickly provoked in your spirit, for anger resides in the lap of fools. | 9Don't let your spirit rush to be angry, for anger abides in the heart of fools. |
| 10Do not say, "Why were the old days better than these?" For it is not wise to ask such questions. | 10Don't say, "Why were the former days better than these?" since it is not wise of you to ask this. |
| 11Wisdom, like an inheritance, is a good thing and benefits those who see the sun. | 11Wisdom is as good as an inheritance and an advantage to those who see the sun, |
| 12Wisdom is a shelter as money is a shelter, but the advantage of knowledge is this: Wisdom preserves those who have it. | 12because wisdom is protection as money is protection, and the advantage of knowledge is that wisdom preserves the life of its owner. |
| 13Consider what God has done: Who can straighten what he has made crooked? | 13Consider the work of God, for who can straighten out what He has made crooked? |
| 14When times are good, be happy; but when times are bad, consider this: God has made the one as well as the other. Therefore, no one can discover anything about their future. | 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. |
| 15In this meaningless life of mine I have seen both of these: the righteous perishing in their righteousness, and the wicked living long in their wickedness. | 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. |
| 16Do not be overrighteous, neither be overwise-- why destroy yourself? | 16Don't be excessively righteous, and don't be overly wise. Why should you destroy yourself? |
| 17Do not be overwicked, and do not be a fool-- why die before your time? | 17Don't be excessively wicked, and don't be foolish. Why should you die before your time? |
| 18It is good to grasp the one and not let go of the other. Whoever fears God will avoid all extremes. | 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. |
| 19Wisdom makes one wise person more powerful than ten rulers in a city. | 19Wisdom makes the wise man stronger than ten rulers of a city. |
| 20Indeed, there is no one on earth who is righteous, no one who does what is right and never sins. | 20There is certainly no righteous man on the earth who does good and never sins. |
| 21Do not pay attention to every word people say, or you may hear your servant cursing you-- | 21Don't pay attention to everything people say, or you may hear your servant cursing you, |
| 22for you know in your heart that many times you yourself have cursed others. | 22for you know that many times you yourself have cursed others. |
| 23All this I tested by wisdom and I said, "I am determined to be wise"-- but this was beyond me. | 23I have tested all this by wisdom. I resolved, "I will be wise," but it was beyond me. |
| 24Whatever exists is far off and most profound-- who can discover it? | 24What exists is beyond reach and very deep. Who can discover it? |
| 25So 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. | 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. |
| 26I 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. | 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. " |
| 27"Look," says the Teacher, "this is what I have discovered: "Adding one thing to another to discover the scheme of things-- | 27Look," says the Teacher, "I have discovered this by adding one thing to another to find out the explanation, |
| 28while I was still searching but not finding-- I found one upright man among a thousand, but not one upright woman among them all. | 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. |
| 29This only have I found: God created mankind upright, but they have gone in search of many schemes." | 29Only see this: I have discovered that God made people upright, but they pursued many schemes." |
| 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. | Holman Christian Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1999, 2000, 2002, 2003, 2009 by Holman Bible Publishers. Used by permission. |
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