Ecclesiastes 7
1 A good name is better then a good oyntment, and the day of death, then the day that one is borne.
[Having] a good reputation [MTY] is better than fine perfume, and the day that we die is better than the day that we are born.
2 It is better to goe to the house of mourning, then to goe to the house of feasting, because this is the ende of all men: and the liuing shall lay it to his heart.
It is better to go to a house where people are mourning [about someone who has died] than to go to a house where people are feasting, because everyone will die some day, and people who are alive should think seriously [IDM] about that.
3 Anger is better then laughter: for by a sad looke the heart is made better.
It is better to be sad than to be [always] laughing, because being sad can cause us to think more about how we should conduct our lives [IDM].
4 The heart of the wise is in the house of mourning: but the heart of fooles is in the house of mirth.
Wise [people] who go to where others are mourning think about [the fact that some day they also will] die, but foolish people [PRS] [do not think about that]; they are always [MTY] laughing.
5 Better it is to heare ye rebuke of a wise man, then that a man should heare the song of fooles.
It is better to pay attention to [someone who is wise] you than to listen to the songs of a foolish person.
6 For like ye noyse of the thornes vnder the pot, so is the laughter of the foole: this also is vanitie.
By [listening to] foolish people laughing we will not [learn any more than by listening to] the crackling of thorns [being burned] under a pot. Listening to fools is senseless.
7 Surely oppression maketh a wise man mad: and the rewarde destroyeth the heart.
When wise people say to others, “You must pay me a lot of money for me to protect you,” that causes those wise people to become foolish, and [accepting] bribes causes people to become unable to do what is fair/just.
8 The ende of a thing is better then the beginning thereof, and the pacient in spirit is better then the proude in spirit.
Finishing something is better than starting something, and being patient is better than being proud.
9 Be not thou of an hastie spirit to be angry: for anger resteth in the bosome of fooles.
Do not quickly (lose your temper/react to things angrily), because it is foolish people [SYN] who become very angry.
10 Say not thou, Why is it that the former dayes were better then these? for thou doest not enquire wisely of this thing.
Do not say, “Things were a lot better [RHQ] previously,” because it is people who are not wise who say that.
11 Wisedome is good with an inheritance, and excellent to them that see the sunne.
Being wise is better than inheriting [valuable things]; being wise provides lasting benefits for every person on the earth [MTY].
12 For man shall rest in the shadowe of wisedome, and in the shadowe of siluer: but the excellencie of the knowledge of wisedome giueth life to the possessers thereof.
We are [sometimes] protected by being wise like we are [sometimes] protected by having a lot of money, but being wise is better [than having a lot of money], [because] being wise prevents us from [doing foolish things that would] cause us to die.
13 Beholde the worke of God: for who can make straight that which he hath made crooked?
Think [carefully about] what God has done. Certainly no one can [RHQ] cause to become straight the things that God has caused to be crooked.
14 In the day of wealth be of good comfort, and in the day of affliction consider: God also hath made this contrary to that, to the intent that man shoulde finde nothing after him.
When things are going well for you, be happy, and when things are not going well for you, remember that God is the one who causes good things to happen and who also causes disasters.
15 I haue seene all things in the dayes of my vanitie: there is a iust man that perisheth in his iustice, and there is a wicked man that continueth long in his malice.
During all the time that I have been alive I have seen a lot of [HYP] things that seem senseless. I have seen righteous people die [while they are still young], and I have seen wicked people remain alive for a very long time in [spite of] their continuing to be wicked.
16 Be not thou iust ouermuch, neither make thy selfe ouerwise: wherefore shouldest thou be desolate?
[So] do not think that you are very righteous and do not think that you are very wise, [because if you think those things], you will destroy yourself.
17 Be not thou wicked ouermuch, neither be thou foolish: wherefore shouldest thou perish not in thy time?
If you do what is evil or do what is foolish, you might die while you are still young.
18 It is good that thou lay hold on this: but yet withdrawe not thine hand from that: for he that feareth God, shall come forth of them all.
Continue to avoid doing what is evil and doing what is foolish; avoid doing both of those things by continually revering God.
19 Wisedome shall strengthen the wise man more then ten mightie princes that are in ye citie.
If you are wise, you will be more powerful/influential than the ten most powerful/influential men in your city.
20 Surely there is no man iust in the earth, that doeth good and sinneth not.
There is no one in this world who [always] does what is right and who never sins.
21 Giue not thine heart also to all ye wordes that men speake, lest thou doe heare thy seruant cursing thee.
Do not pay attention [IDM] to everything that people say, because if you do that, you might hear your servant cursing you.
22 For often times also thine heart knoweth that thou likewise hast cursed others.
You know that you have also cursed other people.
23 All this haue I prooued by wisedome: I thought I will be wise, but it went farre from me.
I said [to myself] that I would use my wisdom to study all the things [that I have written about], but I was not able to do it successfully.
24 It is farre off, what may it be? and it is a profound deepenesse, who can finde it?
Wisdom seems to be far from me; there is no one [RHQ] who can truly understand everything.
25 I haue compassed about, both I and mine heart to knowe and to enquire and to search wisedome, and reason, and to knowe the wickednesse of follie, and the foolishnesse of madnesse,
But I decided to investigate things and by my wisdom try to understand the reason for everything. I also wanted to understand why people act wickedly and why they act very foolishly.
26 And I finde more bitter then death the woman whose heart is as nettes and snares, and her handes, as bands: he that is good before God, shalbe deliuered from her, but the sinner shall be taken by her.
[One thing I learned was that] (allowing a woman to seduce you/having sex with a woman to whom you are not married) is worse than dying. A woman who tries to seduce men is [as dangerous as] a trap [MET]. [If you allow her to put] her arms [around you, it will be as though she will be fastening you with] chains. Women like that will capture sinful men, but men who please God will escape from such women.
27 Beholde, sayth the Preacher, this haue I found, seeking one by one to finde the count:
This is what I have learned: I tried to learn more and more about things to try to find out the reason for everything,
28 And yet my soule seeketh, but I finde it not: I haue found one man of a thousand: but a woman among them all haue I not founde.
and I continued to try to learn more, but I could not find [all that I was searching for]. [But] one thing that I found out was that among 1,000 [people] I found one righteous man, but I did not find even one righteous woman.
29 Onely loe, this haue I founde, that God hath made man righteous: but they haue sought many inuentions.
[But] I did learn one thing: When God created people, they were righteous, but they have found many ways to do many evil things.
