Ecclesiastes 7
1 A good name is better than oil of great price, and the day of death than the day of birth.
A good name is betere than preciouse oynementis; and the dai of deth is betere than the dai of birthe.
2 It is better to go to the house of weeping, than to go to the house of feasting; because that is the end of every man, and the living will take it to their hearts.
It is betere to go to the hous of morenyng, than to the hous of a feeste; for in that hous `of morenyng the ende of alle men is monestid, and a man lyuynge thenkith, what is to comynge.
3 Sorrow is better than joy; when the face is sad the mind gets better.
Yre is betere than leiyyng; for the soule of a trespassour is amendid bi the heuynesse of cheer.
4 The hearts of the wise are in the house of weeping; but the hearts of the foolish are in the house of joy.
The herte of wise men is where sorewe is; and the herte of foolis is where gladnesse is.
5 It is better to take note of the protest of the wise, than for a man to give ear to the song of the foolish.
It is betere to be repreued of a wijs man, than to be disseyued bi the flateryng of foolis;
6 Like the cracking of thorns under a pot, so is the laugh of a foolish man; and this again is to no purpose.
for as the sown of thornes brennynge vndur a pot, so is the leiyyng of a fool. But also this is vanyte.
7 The wise are troubled by the ways of the cruel, and the giving of money is the destruction of the heart.
Fals chalenge disturblith a wijs man, and it schal leese the strengthe of his herte.
8 The end of a thing is better than its start, and a gentle spirit is better than pride.
Forsothe the ende of preyer is betere than the bigynnyng. A pacient man is betere than a proud man.
9 Be not quick to let your spirit be angry; because wrath is in the heart of the foolish.
Be thou not swift to be wrooth; for ire restith in the bosum of a fool.
10 Say not, Why were the days which have gone by better than these? Such a question comes not from wisdom.
Seie thou not, What gessist thou is of cause, that the formere tymes weren betere than ben now? for whi siche axyng is fonned.
11 Wisdom together with a heritage is good, and a profit to those who see the sun.
Forsothe wisdom with richessis is more profitable, and profitith more to men seynge the sunne.
12 Wisdom keeps a man from danger even as money does; but the value of knowledge is that wisdom gives life to its owner.
For as wisdom defendith, so money defendith; but lernyng and wisdom hath this more, that tho yyuen lijf to `her weldere.
13 Give thought to the work of God. Who will make straight what he has made bent?
Biholde thou the werkis of God, that no man may amende hym, whom God hath dispisid.
14 In the day of wealth have joy, but in the day of evil take thought: God has put the one against the other, so that man may not be certain what will be after him.
In a good day vse thou goodis, and bifore eschewe thou an yuel day; for God made so this dai as that dai, that a man fynde not iust playnyngis ayens hym.
15 These two have I seen in my life which is to no purpose: a good man coming to his end in his righteousness, and an evil man whose days are long in his evil-doing.
Also Y siy these thingis in the daies of my natyuyte; a iust man perischith in his riytfulnesse, and a wickid man lyueth myche tyme in his malice.
16 Be not given overmuch to righteousness and be not over-wise. Why let destruction come on you?
Nyle thou be iust myche, nether vndurstonde thou more than is nedeful; lest thou be astonyed.
17 Be not evil overmuch, and be not foolish. Why come to your end before your time?
Do thou not wickidli myche, and nyle thou be a fool; lest thou die in a tyme not thin.
18 It is good to take this in your hand and not to keep your hand from that; he who has the fear of God will be free of the two.
It is good, that thou susteyne a iust man; but also withdrawe thou not thin hond from hym; for he that dredith God, is not necligent of ony thing.
19 Wisdom makes a wise man stronger than ten rulers in a town.
Wisdom hath coumfortid a wise man, ouer ten pryncis of a citee.
20 There is no man on earth of such righteousness that he does good and is free from sin all his days.
Forsothe no iust man is in erthe, that doith good, and synneth not.
21 Do not give ear to all the words which men say, for fear of hearing the curses of your servant.
But also yyue thou not thin herte to alle wordis, that ben seid; lest perauenture thou here thi seruaunt cursynge thee;
22 Your heart has knowledge how frequently others have been cursed by you.
for thi conscience woot, that also thou hast cursid ofte othere men.
23 All this I have put to the test by wisdom; I said, I will be wise, but it was far from me.
I asayede alle thingis in wisdom; Y seide, I schal be maad wijs, and it yede awei ferthere fro me, myche more than it was;
24 Far off is true existence, and very deep; who may have knowledge of it?
and the depthe is hiy, who schal fynde it?
25 I gave my mind to knowledge and to searching for wisdom and the reason of things, and to the discovery that sin is foolish, and that to be foolish is to be without one's senses.
I cumpasside alle thingis in my soule, to kunne, and biholde, and seke wisdom and resoun, and to knowe the wickidnesse of a fool, and the errour of vnprudent men.
26 And I saw a thing more bitter than death, even the woman whose heart is full of tricks and nets, and whose hands are as bands. He with whom God is pleased will get free from her, but the sinner will be taken by her.
And Y foond a womman bitterere than deth, which is the snare of hunteris, and hir herte is a net, and hir hondis ben boondis; he that plesith God schal ascape hir, but he that is a synnere, schal be takun of hir.
27 Look! this I have seen, said the Preacher, taking one thing after another to get the true account,
Lo! Y foond this, seide Ecclesiastes, oon and other, that Y schulde fynde resoun, which my soule sekith yit;
28 For which my soul is still searching, but I have it not; one man among a thousand have I seen; but a woman among all these I have not seen.
and Y foond not. I foond o man of a thousynde; Y foond not a womman of alle.
29 This only have I seen, that God made men upright, but they have been searching out all sorts of inventions.
I foond this oonli, that God made a man riytful; and he medlide hym silf with questiouns with out noumbre. Who is siche as a wijs man? and who knowith the expownyng of a word?
