Ecclesiastes 7

Learn about life and death

1 If people respect you as a good person,

that is better than expensive perfume.

The day of your death is better than the day of your birth.

2 If you go to a house where there is a funeral,

that is better for you than to go to a party.

Everyone will die one day.

People should think about death while they are still alive.

3 If you are sad,

that is better for you than to laugh all the time.

We learn more about ourselves when we are sad.

4 A wise person thinks about funerals and what they mean.

A foolish person thinks about how to enjoy a party.

5 If a wise person warns you, listen to him.

That is better for you than to listen to the songs of a foolish person.

6 If you use thorn bushes to make a fire,

they make a lot of noise but they burn too quickly.

When a foolish person laughs,

their noise also has no purpose.

7 If a wise person cheats people,

he becomes a fool.

If you accept a bribe,

you will no longer think properly.

8 If you finish some work,

that is better than to start something new.

It is better to be patient than to be proud.

9 Control your angry thoughts.

Only fools allow their anger to continue.

10 Do not say, ‘Everything was a lot better in the past.’

Those are not wise thoughts.

11 It is good to have wisdom,

like money that you receive from your father.

Wisdom helps everyone who lives.

12 Both wisdom and money can keep you safe.

But wisdom is better.

If you are wise, your knowledge can save your life.

13 Think about the things that God has done.

If God has bent something,

nobody can make it straight again.

14 If your life is good, you should be happy.

But if you have trouble, think about this:

God causes both joy and trouble in our lives.

We do not know what will happen next.

We can never know everything

15 In my short life on the earth

I have seen these things which have no purpose:

Sometimes righteous people may die when they are still young.

They did good things, but they died.

And sometimes wicked people continue to live for along time.

They did evil things, but they continued to live.

16 So do not try to be too good or too wise.

That might cause you to have trouble.

17 But do not be too wicked. Do not be a fool.

That might cause you to die when you are still young.

18 Remember both these things.

Do not forget either of them.

You can do that if you respect God and you obey him.

19 Wisdom makes a wise person more powerful

than ten rulers in a city.

20 There is nobody on the earth who is so righteous

that they always do what is right.

There is nobody who never does a wrong thing.

21 Do not listen to all the things that people say about you.

You might hear your servant when he is cursing you!

22 Do not forget that you also have often cursed other people.

23 I have used wisdom to study all these things.

I tried very much to understand everything that happens.

But I could not do it.

24 People cannot understand these things.

The meaning of life is too difficult for anyone to understand.

25 I decided to study many things

so that I would become wise.

I wanted to understand the reason why things happen.

I also wanted to know why it is stupid to be wicked,

and why it is crazy to do foolish things.

26 I learned this:

Some women are like a trap that catches animals.

Women like that are more dangerous than death.

They may pretend to love you.

They may hold you in their arms.

But really their arms are like chains.

They want to catch you,

as hunters catch animals.

Women like that will easily catch

a man who has turned away from God.

But a man who pleases God

will escape from them.

27 This is what I, the Teacher, have learned.

I studied everything very carefully.

I wanted to know the reason why things happen.

28 I continued to try to learn more and more.

But I could not find the answers.

Among one thousand people,

I found one good man.

But among them all,

I did not find a good woman.

29 I did learn this:

God made people to do what is right.

But people have chosen their own way to do things.