Ecclesiastes 7:15-28
New American Standard Bible
Chapter 7
15I have seen everything during my lifetime of futility; there is a righteous person who perishes in his righteousness, and there is a wicked person who prolongs his life in his wickedness. 16Do not be excessively righteous, and do not be overly wise. Why should you ruin yourself? 17Do not be excessively wicked, and do not be foolish. Why should you die before your time? 18It is good that you grasp one thing while not letting go of the other; for one who fears God comes out with both of them.
19Wisdom strengthens a wise person more than ten rulers who are in a city.
20Indeed, there is not a righteous person on earth who always does good and does not ever sin.
21Also, do not take seriously all the words which are spoken, so that you do not hear your servant cursing you,
22for you know that even you have cursed others many times as well.
23I tested all this with wisdom, and I said, 'I will be wise,' but wisdom was far from me.
24What has been is remote and very mysterious. Who can discover it?
25I directed my mind to know and to investigate, and to seek wisdom and an explanation, and to know the evil of foolishness and the foolishness of insanity.
26And I discovered as more bitter than death the woman whose heart is snares and nets, whose hands are chains. One who is pleasing to God will escape from her, but the sinner will be captured by her.
King James Version
Chapter 7
15All things have I seen in the days of my vanity: there is a just man that perisheth in his righteousness, and there is a wicked man that prolongeth his life in his wickedness. 16Be not righteous over much; neither make thyself over wise: why shouldest thou destroy thyself? 17Be not over much wicked, neither be thou foolish: why shouldest thou die before thy time? 18It is good that thou shouldest take hold of this; yea, also from this withdraw not thine hand: for he that feareth God shall come forth of them all. 19Wisdom strengtheneth the wise more than ten mighty men which are in the city. 20For there is not a just man upon earth, that doeth good, and sinneth not. 21Also take no heed unto all words that are spoken; lest thou hear thy servant curse thee: 22For oftentimes also thine own heart knoweth that thou thyself likewise hast cursed others.
23All this have I proved by wisdom: I said, I will be wise; but it was far from me.
24That which is far off, and exceeding deep, who can find it out?
25I applied mine heart to know, and to search, and to seek out wisdom, and the reason of things, and to know the wickedness of folly, even of foolishness and madness:
26And I find more bitter than death the woman, whose heart is snares and nets, and her hands as bands: whoso pleaseth God shall escape from her; but the sinner shall be taken by her.
27Behold, this have I found, saith the preacher, counting one by one, to find out the account:
28Which yet my soul seeketh, but I find not: one man among a thousand have I found; but a woman among all those have I not found.
Christian Standard Bible
Chapter 7
15In my futile life I have seen everything: someone righteous perishes in spite of his righteousness, and someone wicked lives long in spite of his evil. 16Don't be excessively righteous, and don't be overly wise. Why should you destroy yourself? 17Don't be excessively wicked, and don't be foolish. Why should you die before your time? 18It is good that you grasp the one and do not let the other slip from your hand. For the one who fears God will end up with both of them.
19Wisdom makes the wise person stronger than ten rulers of a city.
20There is certainly no one righteous on the earth who does good and never sins.
21Don't pay attention to everything people say, or you may hear your servant cursing you,
22for in your heart you know that many times you yourself have cursed others.
23I have tested all this by wisdom. I resolved, "I will be wise," but it was beyond me.
24What exists is beyond reach and very deep. Who can discover it?
25I turned my thoughts to know, explore, and examine wisdom and an explanation for things, and to know that wickedness is stupidity and folly is madness.
26And I find more bitter than death the woman who is a trap: her heart a net and her hands chains. The one who pleases God will escape her, but the sinner will be captured by her.
27"Look," says the Teacher, "I have discovered this by adding one thing to another to find out the explanation,
28which my soul continually searches for but does not find: I found one person in a thousand, but none of those was a woman.
New Living Translation
Chapter 7
15I have seen everything in this meaningless life, including the death of good young people and the long life of wicked people. 16So don’t be too good or too wise! Why destroy yourself? 17On the other hand, don’t be too wicked either. Don’t be a fool! Why die before your time? 18Pay attention to these instructions, for anyone who fears God will avoid both extremes.
21Don’t eavesdrop on others — you may hear your servant curse you.
22For you know how often you yourself have cursed others.
23I have always tried my best to let wisdom guide my thoughts and actions. I said to myself, 'I am determined to be wise.' But it didn’t work.
24Wisdom is always distant and difficult to find.
25I searched everywhere, determined to find wisdom and to understand the reason for things. I was determined to prove to myself that wickedness is stupid and that foolishness is madness.
English Standard Version
Chapter 7
15In my vain life I have seen everything. There is a righteous man who perishes in his righteousness, and there is a wicked man who prolongs his life in his evildoing. 16Be not overly righteous, and do not make yourself too wise. Why should you destroy yourself? 17Be not overly wicked, neither be a fool. Why should you die before your time? 18It is good that you should take hold of this, and from that withhold not your hand, for the one who fears God shall come out from both of them.
21Do not take to heart all the things that people say, lest you hear your servant cursing you.
22Your heart knows that many times you yourself have cursed others.
23All this I have tested by wisdom. I said, “I will be wise,” but it was far from me.
24That which has been is far off, and deep, very deep; who can find it out?
25I turned my heart to know and to search out and to seek wisdom and the scheme of things, and to know the wickedness of folly and the foolishness that is madness.
26And I find something more bitter than death: the woman whose heart is snares and nets, and whose hands are fetters. He who pleases God escapes her, but the sinner is taken by her.
27Behold, this is what I found, says the Preacher, while adding one thing to another to find the scheme of things—
28which my soul has sought repeatedly, but I have not found. One man among a thousand I found, but a woman among all these I have not found.
New International Version
Chapter 7
15In this meaningless life of mine I have seen both of these: the righteous perishing in their righteousness, and the wicked living long in their wickedness. 16Do not be overrighteous, neither be overwise-- why destroy yourself? 17Do not be overwicked, and do not be a fool-- why die before your time?
20Indeed, there is no one on earth who is righteous, no one who does what is right and never sins.
21Do not pay attention to every word people say, or you may hear your servant cursing you--
22for you know in your heart that many times you yourself have cursed others.
23All this I tested by wisdom and I said, 'I am determined to be wise'-- but this was beyond me.
24Whatever exists is far off and most profound-- who can discover it?
25So I turned my mind to understand, to investigate and to search out wisdom and the scheme of things and to understand the stupidity of wickedness and the madness of folly.
26I find more bitter than death the woman who is a snare, whose heart is a trap and whose hands are chains. The man who pleases God will escape her, but the sinner she will ensnare.
New King James Version
