The Contrast of Wisdom and Folly
1hA good name is better than precious ointment,
and ithe day of death than the day of birth.
2It is better to go to the house of mourning
than to go to the house of feasting,
for this is the end of all mankind,
and the living will jlay it to heart.
3Sorrow is better than laughter,
kfor by sadness of face the heart is made glad.
4The heart of the wise is in the house of mourning,
but the heart of fools is in the house of mirth.
5It is lbetter for a man to hear the rebuke of the wise
than to hear the song of fools.
6mFor as the crackling of nthorns under a pot,
so is the laughter of the fools;
this also is vanity.1
7Surely ooppression drives the wise into madness,
and pa bribe corrupts the heart.
Footnotes
- 1 7:6 The Hebrew term hebel can refer to a “vapor” or “mere breath” (see note on 1:2)
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