A good name is better than precious oil; and the day of death, than the day of one's birth.
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 will lay it to his heart.
Sorrow is better than laughter; for by the sadness of the countenance the heart is made {Or, better}glad.
The heart of the wise is in the house of mourning; but the heart of fools is in the house of mirth.
It is better to hear the rebuke of the wise, than for a man to hear the song of fools.
For as the crackling of thorns under a pot, so is the laughter of the fool: this also is vanity.
{Or, For}Surely extortion maketh the wise man foolish; and a bribe destroyeth the understanding.
Better is the end of a thing than the beginning thereof; and the patient in spirit is better than the proud in spirit.
Be not hasty in thy spirit to be {Or, vexed}angry; for {Or, vexation}anger resteth in the bosom of fools.
Say not thou, What is the cause that the former days were better than these? for thou dost not inquire {Hebrew: out of wisdom.}wisely concerning this.
Wisdom {Or, is good together with an inheritance, and profitable unto them &c.}is as good as an inheritance; yea, more excellent is it for them that see the sun.
For wisdom is a defence, even as money is a defence; but the excellency of knowledge is, that wisdom preserveth the life of him that hath it.
Consider the work of God: for who can make that straight, which he hath made crooked?
In the day of prosperity be joyful, and in the day of adversity consider; yea, God hath made the one side by side with the other, to the end that man should not find out anything that shall be after him.
All this have I seen in my days of vanity: there is a righteous man that perisheth in his righteousness, and there is a wicked man that prolongeth his life in his evil-doing.
Be not righteous overmuch; neither make thyself overwise: why shouldest thou destroy thyself?
Be not overmuch wicked, neither be thou foolish: why shouldest thou die before thy time?
It is good that thou shouldest take hold of this; yea, also from that withdraw not thy hand: for he that feareth God shall come forth from them all.
Wisdom is a strength to the wise man more than ten rulers that are in a city.
{Or, For}Surely there is not a righteous man upon earth, that doeth good, and sinneth not.
Also {Hebrew: give not thy heart.}take not heed unto all words that are spoken, lest thou hear thy servant curse thee;
for oftentimes also thine own heart knoweth that thou thyself likewise hast cursed others.
All this have I {Or, tried by}proved in wisdom: I said, I will be wise; but it was far from me.
That which {Or, hath been}is, is far off and exceeding deep; who can find it out?
I turned about, and my heart was set to know and to search out, and to seek wisdom and the reason of things, and to know {Or, the wickedness of folly, and foolishness which is madness}that wickedness is folly, and that foolishness is madness.
And I find more bitter than death the woman {Or, who is a snare, and her heart is as nets}whose heart is snares and nets, and whose hands are bands: whoso pleaseth God shall escape from her; but the sinner shall be taken by her.
Behold, this have I found, saith the Preacher, {Or, weighting one thing after another, to find out the reason}laying one thing to another, to find out the account;
which my soul still seeketh, but I have not found: one man among a thousand have I found; but a woman among all those have I not found.
Behold, this only have I found: that God made man upright; but they have sought out many inventions.
Querverweise zu Prediger 7,1 Pred 7,1
The light of the eyes rejoiceth the heart;And good tidings make the bones fat.
Dead flies cause the oil of the perfumer {Or, to stink and putrefy}to send forth an evil odor; so doth a little folly {Or, him that is valued for wisdom}outweigh wisdom and honor.
Wherefore I praised the dead that have been long dead more than the living that are yet alive;
A good name is rather to be chosen than great riches,And {Or, favor is better than &c.}loving favor rather than silver and gold.
It is like the precious oil upon the head,That ran down upon the beard,Even Aaron's beard;That came down upon the {Or, collar}skirt of his garments;
There the wicked cease from {Or, raging}troubling;And there the weary are at rest.
Unto them will I give in my house and within my walls a {Or, place Hebrew: hand.}memorial and a name {Or, better than sons or daughters}better than of sons and of daughters; I will give {Hebrew: him.}them an everlasting name, that shall not be cut off.
Oil and perfume rejoice the heart;So doth the sweetness of a man's friend that cometh of hearty counsel.
The righteous perisheth, and no man layeth it to heart; and {Or, godly}merciful men are taken away, none considering that the righteous is taken away {Or, through wickedness}from the evil to come.
Nevertheless in this rejoice not, that the spirits are subject unto you; but rejoice that your names are written in heaven.
Thine oils have a goodly fragrance;Thy name is as oil poured forth;Therefore do the {Or, maidens}virgins love thee.
He entereth into peace; they rest in their beds, each one that walketh {Or, straight before him}in his uprightness.
For therein the elders had witness borne to them.
How fair is thy love, my sister, my bride!How much better is thy love than wine!And the fragrance of thine oils than all manner of spices!
For we know that if the earthly house of our {Or, bodily frame Compare Wisd. 9:15}tabernacle be dissolved, we have a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal, in the heavens.
And these all, having had witness borne to them through their faith, received not the promise,
And during supper, the devil having already put into the heart of Judas Iscariot, Simon's son, to {Or, deliver him up}betray him,
we are of good courage, I say, and are willing rather to be absent from the body, and to be at home with the Lord.
For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain.
{Or, But if to live in the flesh be my lot, this is the fruit of my work: and what I shall choose I know not.}But if to live in the flesh, — if {Greek: this is for me fruit of work.}this shall bring fruit from my work, then {Or, what shall I choose?}what I shall choose I know not.
But I am in a strait betwixt the two, having the desire to depart and be with Christ; for it is very far better:
And I heard a voice from heaven saying, Write, Blessed are the dead who die {Or, in the Lord. From henceforth, yea, saith the Spirit}in the Lord from henceforth: yea, saith the Spirit, that they may rest from their labors; for their works follow with them.