| New King James Version | New International Version |
| 1A good name is better than precious ointment, And the day of death than the day of one’s birth; | 1A good name is better than fine perfume, and the day of death better than the day of birth. |
| 2Better to go to the house of mourning Than to go to the house of feasting, For that is the end of all men; And the living will take it to heart. | 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. |
| 3Sorrow is better than laughter, For by a sad countenance the heart is made better. | 3Frustration is better than laughter, because a sad face is good for the heart. |
| 4The heart of the wise is in the house of mourning, But the heart of fools is in the house of mirth. | 4The heart of the wise is in the house of mourning, but the heart of fools is in the house of pleasure. |
| 5It is better to hear the rebuke of the wise Than for a man to hear the song of fools. | 5It is better to heed the rebuke of a wise person than to listen to the song of fools. |
| 6For like the crackling of thorns under a pot, So is the laughter of the fool. This also is vanity. | 6Like the crackling of thorns under the pot, so is the laughter of fools. This too is meaningless. |
| 7Surely oppression destroys a wise man’s reason, And a bribe debases the heart. | 7Extortion turns a wise person into a fool, and a bribe corrupts the heart. |
| 8The end of a thing is better than its beginning; The patient in spirit is better than the proud in spirit. | 8The end of a matter is better than its beginning, and patience is better than pride. |
| 9Do not hasten in your spirit to be angry, For anger rests in the bosom of fools. | 9Do not be quickly provoked in your spirit, for anger resides in the lap of fools. |
| 10Do not say, “Why were the former days better than these?” For you do not inquire wisely concerning this. | 10Do not say, "Why were the old days better than these?" For it is not wise to ask such questions. |
| 11Wisdom is good with an inheritance, And profitable to those who see the sun. | 11Wisdom, like an inheritance, is a good thing and benefits those who see the sun. |
| 12For wisdom is a defense as money is a defense, But the excellence of knowledge is that wisdom gives life to those who have it. | 12Wisdom is a shelter as money is a shelter, but the advantage of knowledge is this: Wisdom preserves those who have it. |
| 13Consider the work of God; For who can make straight what He has made crooked? | 13Consider what God has done: Who can straighten what he has made crooked? |
| 14In the day of prosperity be joyful, But in the day of adversity consider: Surely God has appointed the one as well as the other, So that man can find out nothing that will come after him. | 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. |
| 15I have seen everything in my days of vanity: There is a just man who perishes in his righteousness, And there is a wicked man who prolongs life in his wickedness. | 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. |
| 16Do not be overly righteous, Nor be overly wise: Why should you destroy yourself? | 16Do not be overrighteous, neither be overwise-- why destroy yourself? |
| 17Do not be overly wicked, Nor be foolish: Why should you die before your time? | 17Do not be overwicked, and do not be a fool-- why die before your time? |
| 18It is good that you grasp this, And also not remove your hand from the other; For he who fears God will escape them all. | 18It is good to grasp the one and not let go of the other. Whoever fears God will avoid all extremes. |
| 19Wisdom strengthens the wise More than ten rulers of the city. | 19Wisdom makes one wise person more powerful than ten rulers in a city. |
| 20For there is not a just man on earth who does good And does not sin. | 20Indeed, there is no one on earth who is righteous, no one who does what is right and never sins. |
| 21Also do not take to heart everything people say, Lest you hear your servant cursing you. | 21Do not pay attention to every word people say, or you may hear your servant cursing you-- |
| 22For many times, also, your own heart has known That even you have cursed others. | 22for you know in your heart that many times you yourself have cursed others. |
| 23All this I have proved by wisdom. I said, “I will be wise”; But it was far from me. | 23All this I tested by wisdom and I said, "I am determined to be wise"-- but this was beyond me. |
| 24As for that which is far off and exceedingly deep, Who can find it out? | 24Whatever exists is far off and most profound-- who can discover it? |
| 25I applied my heart to know, To search and seek out wisdom and the reason of things, To know the wickedness of folly, Even of foolishness and madness. | 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. |
| 26And I find more bitter than death The woman whose heart is snares and nets, Whose hands are fetters. He who pleases God shall escape from her, But the sinner shall be trapped by her. | 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. |
| 27“Here is what I have found,” says the Preacher, “Adding one thing to the other to find out the reason, | 27"Look," says the Teacher, "this is what I have discovered: "Adding one thing to another to discover the scheme of things-- |
| 28Which my soul still seeks but I cannot find: One man among a thousand I have found, But a woman among all these I have not found. | 28while I was still searching but not finding-- I found one upright man among a thousand, but not one upright woman among them all. |
| 29Truly, this only I have found: That God made man upright, But they have sought out many schemes.” | 29This only have I found: God created mankind upright, but they have gone in search of many schemes." |
| The Holy Bible, New King James Version, Copyright © 1982 Thomas Nelson. All rights reserved. | 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. |
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