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 7,16 Pred 7,16
Hast thou found honey? eat so much as is sufficient for thee,Lest thou be filled therewith, and vomit it.
{Or, And as for more than these, my son, be warned}And furthermore, my son, be admonished: of making many books there is no end; and much study is a weariness of the flesh.
Behold, your house is left unto you {Some ancient authorities omit desolate.}desolate.
Take heed that ye do not your righteousness before men, to be seen of them: else ye have no reward with your Father who is in heaven.
When therefore thou doest alms, sound not a trumpet before thee, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may have glory of men. Verily I say unto you, They have received their reward.
But when thou doest alms, let not thy left hand know what thy right hand doeth:
that thine alms may be in secret: and thy Father who seeth in secret shall recompense thee.
And when ye pray, ye shall not be as the hypocrites: for they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and in the corners of the streets, that they may be seen of men. Verily I say unto you, They have received their reward.
But thou, when thou prayest, enter into thine inner chamber, and having shut thy door, pray to thy Father who is in secret, and thy Father who seeth in secret shall recompense thee.
And in praying use not vain repetitions, as the Gentiles do: for they think that they shall be heard for their much speaking.
And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was {Or, desireable to look upon}to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat; and she gave also unto her husband with her, and he did eat.
And they cast dust on their heads, and cried, weeping and mourning, saying, Woe, woe, the great city, wherein all that had their ships in the sea were made rich by reason of her costliness! for in one hour is she made desolate.
Then come to him the disciples of John, saying, Why do we and the Pharisees fast {Some ancient authorities omit oft.}oft, but thy disciples fast not?
{Or, But an empty man will get understanding, when a wild ass's colt is born a man}But vain man is void of understanding,Yea, man is born as a wild ass's colt.
Why do thy disciples transgress the tradition of the elders? for they wash not their hands when they eat bread.
And he answered and said unto them, Why do ye also transgress the commandment of God because of your tradition?
For God said, {Exodus 20:12, Deuteronomy 5:16.}Honor thy father and thy mother: and, {Exodus 21:17; Leviticus 20:9.}He that speaketh evil of father or mother, let him {Or, surely die}die the death.
But ye say, Whosoever shall say to his father or his mother, That wherewith thou mightest have been profited by me is given to God;
he shall not honor his father {Some ancient authorities add or his mother.}. And ye have made void the {Some ancient authorities read law.}word of God because of your tradition.
Ye hypocrites, well did Isaiah prophesy of you, saying,
{Isaiah 29:13.}This people honoreth me with their lips;But their heart is far from me.
But in vain do they worship me,Teaching as their doctrines the precepts of men.
And unto man he said,Behold, the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom;And to depart from evil is understanding.
But all their works they do to be seen of men: for they make broad their phylacteries, and enlarge the borders of their garments,
Weary not thyself to be rich;Cease {Or, by reason of thine own understanding}from thine own wisdom.
Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye tithe mint and {Or, dill}anise and cummin, and have left undone the weightier matters of the law, justice, and mercy, and faith: but these ye ought to have done, and not to have left the other undone.
For I would not, brethren, have you ignorant of this mystery, lest ye be wise in your own conceits, that a hardening in part hath befallen Israel, until the fulness of the Gentiles be come in;
Ye blind guides, that strain out the gnat, and swallow the camel!
For I say, through the grace that was given me, to every man that is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think; but so to think as to think soberly, according as God hath dealt to each man a measure of faith.
Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye build the sepulchres of the prophets, and garnish the tombs of the righteous,
Let no man deceive himself. If any man thinketh that he is wise among you in this {Or, age}world, let him become a fool, that he may become wise.
I fast twice in the week; I give tithes of all that I get.
and again, {Psalms 94:11.}The Lord knoweth the reasonings of the wise, that they are vain.
For I bear them witness that they have a zeal for God, but not according to knowledge.
Let no man rob you of your prize {Or, of his own mere will, by humility &c.}by a voluntary humility and {The Greek word denotes an act of reverence, whether paid to a creature, or to the Creator.}worshipping of the angels, {Or, taking his stand upon}dwelling in the things which he hath {Many authorities, some ancient, insert not.}seen, vainly puffed up by his fleshly mind,
as touching zeal, persecuting the church; as touching the righteousness which is in the law, found blameless.
Which things have indeed a show of wisdom in will-worship, and humility, and severity to the body; but are not of any {Or, honor}value against the indulgence of the flesh.
forbidding to marry, and commanding to abstain from meats, which God created to be received with thanksgiving by them that believe and know the truth.
Who is wise and understanding among you? let him show by his good life his works in meekness of wisdom.
But if ye have bitter jealousy and faction in your heart, glory not and lie not against the truth.
This wisdom is not a wisdom that cometh down from above, but is earthly, {Or, natural Or, animal}sensual, {Greek: demoniacal.}devilish.
For where jealousy and faction are, there is confusion and every vile deed.
But the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, easy to be entreated, full of mercy and good fruits, without {Or, doubtfulness Or, partiality}variance, without hypocrisy.