Ecclesiastes · Bible in Basic English
Ecclesiastes 7 Bible in Basic English
Audio: World English Bible (WEB), read by Winfred W. Henson · About the recordings
1 A good name is better than oil of great price, and the day of death than the day of birth.
1 A good name is better than fine perfume; and the day of death better than the day of one’s birth.
2 It is better to go to the house of weeping, than to go to the house of feasting; because that is the end of every man, and the living will take it to their hearts.
2 It is better 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 should take this to heart.
3 Sorrow is better than joy; when the face is sad the mind gets better.
3 Sorrow is better than laughter; for by the sadness of the face the heart is made good.
4 The hearts of the wise are in the house of weeping; but the hearts of the foolish are in the house of joy.
4 The heart of the wise is in the house of mourning; but the heart of fools is in the house of mirth.
5 It is better to take note of the protest of the wise, than for a man to give ear to the song of the foolish.
5 It is better to hear the rebuke of the wise than for a man to hear the song of fools.
6 Like the cracking of thorns under a pot, so is the laugh of a foolish man; and this again is to no purpose.
6 For as the crackling of thorns under a pot, so is the laughter of the fool. This also is vanity.
7 The wise are troubled by the ways of the cruel, and the giving of money is the destruction of the heart.
7 Surely extortion makes the wise man foolish; and a bribe destroys the understanding.
8 The end of a thing is better than its start, and a gentle spirit is better than pride.
8 Better is the end of a thing than its beginning. The patient in spirit is better than the proud in spirit.
9 Be not quick to let your spirit be angry; because wrath is in the heart of the foolish.
9 Don’t be hasty in your spirit to be angry, for anger rests in the bosom of fools.
10 Say not, Why were the days which have gone by better than these? Such a question comes not from wisdom.
10 Don’t say, “Why were the former days better than these?” For you do not ask wisely about this.
11 Wisdom together with a heritage is good, and a profit to those who see the sun.
11 Wisdom is as good as an inheritance. Yes, it is more excellent for those who see the sun.
12 Wisdom keeps a man from danger even as money does; but the value of knowledge is that wisdom gives life to its owner.
12 For wisdom is a defense, even as money is a defense; but the excellency of knowledge is that wisdom preserves the life of him who has it.
13 Give thought to the work of God. Who will make straight what he has made bent?
13 Consider the work of God, for who can make that straight which he has made crooked?
14 In the day of wealth have joy, but in the day of evil take thought: God has put the one against the other, so that man may not be certain what will be after him.
14 In the day of prosperity be joyful, and in the day of adversity consider; yes, God has made the one side by side with the other, to the end that man should not find out anything after him.
15 These two have I seen in my life which is to no purpose: a good man coming to his end in his righteousness, and an evil man whose days are long in his evil-doing.
15 All this I have seen in my days of vanity: there is a righteous man who perishes in his righteousness, and there is a wicked man who lives long in his evildoing.
16 Be not given overmuch to righteousness and be not over-wise. Why let destruction come on you?
16 Don’t be overly righteous, neither make yourself overly wise. Why should you destroy yourself?
17 Be not evil overmuch, and be not foolish. Why come to your end before your time?
17 Don’t be too wicked, neither be foolish. Why should you die before your time?
18 It is good to take this in your hand and not to keep your hand from that; he who has the fear of God will be free of the two.
18 It is good that you should take hold of this. Yes, also don’t withdraw your hand from that; for he who fears God will come out of them all.
19 Wisdom makes a wise man stronger than ten rulers in a town.
19 Wisdom is a strength to the wise man more than ten rulers who are in a city.
20 There is no man on earth of such righteousness that he does good and is free from sin all his days.
20 Surely there is not a righteous man on earth who does good and doesn’t sin.
21 Do not give ear to all the words which men say, for fear of hearing the curses of your servant.
21 Also don’t take heed to all words that are spoken, lest you hear your servant curse you;
22 Your heart has knowledge how frequently others have been cursed by you.
22 for often your own heart knows that you yourself have likewise cursed others.
23 All this I have put to the test by wisdom; I said, I will be wise, but it was far from me.
23 All this I have proved in wisdom. I said, “I will be wise;” but it was far from me.
24 Far off is true existence, and very deep; who may have knowledge of it?
24 That which is, is far off and exceedingly deep. Who can find it out?
25 I gave my mind to knowledge and to searching for wisdom and the reason of things, and to the discovery that sin is foolish, and that to be foolish is to be without one's senses.
25 I turned around, and my heart sought to know and to search out, and to seek wisdom and the scheme of things, and to know that wickedness is stupidity, and that foolishness is madness.
26 And I saw a thing more bitter than death, even the woman whose heart is full of tricks and nets, and whose hands are as bands. He with whom God is pleased will get free from her, but the sinner will be taken by her.
26 I find more bitter than death the woman whose heart is snares and traps, whose hands are chains. Whoever pleases God shall escape from her; but the sinner will be ensnared by her.
27 Look! this I have seen, said the Preacher, taking one thing after another to get the true account,
27 “Behold, I have found this,” says the Preacher, “to one another, to find an explanation
28 For which my soul is still searching, but I have it not; one man among a thousand have I seen; but a woman among all these I have not seen.
28 which my soul still seeks, but I have not found. I have found one man among a thousand, but I have not found a woman among all those.
29 This only have I seen, that God made men upright, but they have been searching out all sorts of inventions.
29 Behold, I have only found this: that God made mankind upright; but they search for many inventions.”
Cross references (29)
Related passages for each verse, from the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge as collected and ranked by readers at OpenBible.info.
- 1 Revelation 14:13; Proverbs 22:1; Ecclesiastes 4:2; 2 Corinthians 5:8; Philippians 1:21–23
- 2 Psalm 90:12; Hebrews 9:27; Deuteronomy 32:29; Deuteronomy 32:46; Philippians 3:19
- 3 2 Corinthians 7:9–11; Romans 5:3–4; James 4:8–10; John 16:20–22; Hebrews 12:10–11
- 4 Matthew 8:14–16; Luke 7:12–13; 1 Samuel 25:36; Nehemiah 2:2–5; Jeremiah 51:39
- 5 Proverbs 15:31–32; Psalm 141:5; Revelation 3:19; Proverbs 13:18; Proverbs 17:10
- 6 Psalm 58:9; Psalm 118:12; Ecclesiastes 2:2; Luke 6:25; Jude 12–13
- 7 Deuteronomy 16:19; Exodus 23:8; Proverbs 17:23; Ecclesiastes 4:1; Isaiah 1:23
- 8 Hebrews 10:36; Psalm 126:5–6; Proverbs 14:29; 1 Peter 1:13; James 5:11
- 9 James 1:19; Proverbs 14:17; Proverbs 16:32; Ephesians 4:26–27; Proverbs 26:23–26
- 10 Psalm 14:2–3; Genesis 6:11–12; Romans 1:22–32; Isaiah 50:1; Judges 6:13
- 11 Ecclesiastes 11:7; 1 Timothy 6:17–19; Proverbs 8:10–11; Ecclesiastes 2:13; Ecclesiastes 9:15–18
- 12 Proverbs 8:35; Proverbs 2:7; Proverbs 3:18; Proverbs 11:4; Judges 9:15
- 13 Ecclesiastes 1:15; Job 12:14; Psalm 107:43; Isaiah 14:27; Ecclesiastes 3:11
- 14 Ecclesiastes 3:4; Ecclesiastes 3:22; Deuteronomy 8:3; Ecclesiastes 12:13; James 5:13
- 15 Ecclesiastes 8:12–14; Ecclesiastes 6:12; Psalm 73:3–13; Matthew 23:34–35; Ecclesiastes 9:1–2
- 16 Romans 12:3; Proverbs 25:16; Colossians 2:18; James 3:13–17; Matthew 6:1–7
- 17 Proverbs 10:27; Job 22:16; Psalm 55:23; Acts 12:23; Acts 5:10
- 18 Ecclesiastes 12:13; Ecclesiastes 11:6; Malachi 4:2; Ecclesiastes 8:12; Luke 1:50
- 19 Proverbs 21:22; Colossians 1:9–11; Ecclesiastes 9:13–18; Proverbs 24:5; 2 Samuel 20:16–22
- 20 Romans 3:23; Isaiah 53:6; 1 John 1:8–10; James 3:2; Proverbs 20:9
- 21 Proverbs 30:10; Isaiah 29:21; 2 Samuel 16:10; 2 Samuel 19:19; 1 Corinthians 13:5–7
- 22 James 3:9; Matthew 15:19; Matthew 18:32–35; 1 Kings 2:44; John 8:7–9
- 23 Romans 1:22; 1 Corinthians 1:20; Genesis 3:5; 1 Kings 11:1–8; 1 Kings 3:11–12
- 24 Romans 11:33; Isaiah 55:8–9; 1 Timothy 6:16; Psalm 139:6; Job 28:28
- 25 Ecclesiastes 10:13; Joshua 7:13; Ecclesiastes 2:15; Proverbs 17:12; Ecclesiastes 3:16–17
- 26 Proverbs 22:14; Proverbs 5:3–5; Proverbs 2:16; Proverbs 2:18–19; Ecclesiastes 2:26
- 27 Ecclesiastes 12:8–10; Ecclesiastes 1:1–2
- 28 Job 33:23; Psalm 12:1; 1 Kings 11:1–3; Isaiah 26:9; Ecclesiastes 7:23–24
- 29 Jeremiah 4:22; Genesis 6:11–12; Mark 7:8–9; Titus 3:3; Genesis 5:1
Cross references: OpenBible.info (CC BY), drawn mainly from the public-domain Treasury of Scripture Knowledge. · Sources & licences
What the Fathers said
Passages from the Church Fathers that expound or quote this chapter, verbatim from the public-domain Schaff edition (19th-century English translations).
How these were chosen
“Commentary” is the opening of a homily or exposition on this chapter (John Chrysostom’s homilies, Augustine’s tractates, sermons and expositions of the Psalms). “Quotes” are sentences where the edition’s own footnotes identify a quotation of a verse here, kept only when the wording matches the verse. Only works whose authorship is not in doubt are used. Psalms follow the Hebrew/English numbering (Augustine numbers them as the Septuagint does: his Psalm 50 is Psalm 51 here).
… about eating and drinking, which he often repeats, and very much commends, does not savor the dainties of carnal pleasures, is made plain enough when he says, "It is better to go into the house of mourning than to go into the house of feasting." And a little after He says, "The heart of the wise is in the house …
Read in context · Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, series 1, vol. 2 (1887)
For God, according to the Preacher, made man upright, and they have themselves sought out many inventions.
Read in context · Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, series 2, vol. 7 (1894)
… is better to go into the house of mourning than to go into the house of feasting." And a little after He says, "The heart of the wise is in the house of mourning, and the heart of the simple in the house of feasting." But I think that more worthy of quotation from this book which relates to both …
Read in context · Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, series 1, vol. 2 (1887)