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 7,12 Pred 7,12
Hast not thou made a hedge about him, and about his house, and about all that he hath, on every side? thou hast blessed the work of his hands, and his {Or, cattle}substance is increased in the land.
And the {Or, thorn}bramble said unto the trees, If in truth ye anoint me king over you, then come and take refuge in my shade; and if not, let fire come out of the {Or, thorn}bramble, and devour the cedars of Lebanon.
I call heaven and earth to witness against you this day, that I have set before thee life and death, the blessing and the curse: therefore choose life, that thou mayest live, thou and thy seed;
Acquaint now thyself with him, and be at peace: {Or,as otherwise read, Thereby shall thine increase be good.}Thereby good shall come unto thee.
Receive, I pray thee, {Or, instruction}the law from his mouth,And lay up his words in thy heart.
If thou return to the Almighty, thou shalt be built up, {Or, Thou shall put away…And shall lay up}If thou put away unrighteousness far from thy tents.
And lay thou thy {Hebrew: ore.}treasure {Or, on the earth}in the dust,And the gold of Ophir among the stones of the brooks;
And the Almighty will be thy {Hebrew: ore.}treasure,And {Or, precious silver shall be thine}precious silver unto thee.
For the Chief Musician; set to Al-tashheth. A Psalm of David. Michtam; when he fled from Saul, in the cave.Be merciful unto me, O God, be merciful unto me;For my soul taketh refuge in thee:Yea, in the shadow of thy wings will I take refuge,Until these {Or, wickedness}calamities be overpast.
to love Jehovah thy God, to obey his voice, and to cleave unto him; for {Or, that}he is thy life, and the length of thy days; that thou mayest dwell in the land which Jehovah sware unto thy fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, to give them.
He layeth up sound wisdom for the upright; {Or, And a shield for &c.}He is a shield to them that walk in integrity;
that set out to go down into Egypt, and have not asked at my mouth; to {Or, flee to the stronghold of Pharaoh}strengthen themselves in the strength of Pharaoh, and to take refuge in the shadow of Egypt!
For it is no vain thing for you; because it is your life, and through this thing ye shall prolong your days in the land, whither ye go over the Jordan to possess it.
Discretion shall watch over thee;Understanding shall keep thee:
And a man shall be as a hiding-place from the wind, and a covert from the tempest, as streams of water in a dry place, as the shade of a great rock in a weary land.
She is a tree of life to them that lay hold upon her:And happy is every one that retaineth her.
The poor is hated even of his own neighbor;But the rich hath many friends.
For whoso findeth me findeth life,And shall {Hebrew: draw forth.}obtain favor of Jehovah.
The name of Jehovah is a strong tower;The righteous runneth into it, and {Hebrew: is set on high.}is safe.
For by me thy days shall be multiplied,And the years of thy life shall be increased.
The rich man's wealth is his strong city,And as a high wall in his own imagination.
Riches profit not in the day of wrath;But righteousness delivereth from death.
{Or, And abundance of salvation, wisdom, and knowledge shall be the stability of thy times}And there shall be stability in thy times, abundance of salvation, wisdom, and knowledge: the fear of Jehovah is {Hebrew: his.}thy treasure.
And I know that his commandment is life eternal: the things therefore which I speak, even as the Father hath said unto me, so I speak.
And this is life eternal, that they should know thee the only true God, and him whom thou didst send, even Jesus Christ.
Yea verily, and I count all things to be loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord: for whom I suffered the loss of all things, and do count them but refuse, that I may gain Christ,