¹A good name is better than precious ointment; and the day of death than the day of one's birth.

²It 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.

³Sorrow is better than laughter: for by the sadness of the countenance the heart is made better.

⁴The heart of the wise is in the house of mourning; but the heart of fools is in the house of mirth.

⁵It is better to hear the rebuke of the wise, than for a man to hear the song of fools.

⁶For as the crackling of thorns under a pot, so is the laughter of the fool: this also is vanity.

⁷Surely oppression maketh a wise man mad; and a gift destroyeth the heart.

⁸Better is the end of a thing than the beginning thereof: and the patient in spirit is better than the proud in spirit.

⁹Be not hasty in thy spirit to be angry: for anger resteth in the bosom of fools.

¹⁰Say not thou, What is the cause that the former days were better than these? for thou dost not enquire wisely concerning this.

¹¹Wisdom is good with an inheritance: and by it there is profit to them that see the sun.

¹²For wisdom is a defence, and money is a defence: but the excellency of knowledge is, that wisdom giveth life to them that have it.

¹³Consider the work of God: for who can make that straight, which he hath made crooked?

¹⁴In the day of prosperity be joyful, but in the day of adversity consider: God also hath set the one over against the other, to the end that man should find nothing after him.

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.

²⁹Lo, this only have I found, that God hath made man upright; but they have sought out many inventions.

¹Who is as the wise man? and who knoweth the interpretation of a thing? a man's wisdom maketh his face to shine, and the boldness of his face shall be changed.

²I counsel thee to keep the king's commandment, and that in regard of the oath of God.

³Be not hasty to go out of his sight: stand not in an evil thing; for he doeth whatsoever pleaseth him.

⁴Where the word of a king is, there is power: and who may say unto him, What doest thou?

⁵Whoso keepeth the commandment shall feel no evil thing: and a wise man's heart discerneth both time and judgment.

⁶Because to every purpose there is time and judgment, therefore the misery of man is great upon him.

⁷For he knoweth not that which shall be: for who can tell him when it shall be?

⁸There is no man that hath power over the spirit to retain the spirit; neither hath he power in the day of death: and there is no discharge in that war; neither shall wickedness deliver those that are given to it.

⁹All this have I seen, and applied my heart unto every work that is done under the sun: there is a time wherein one man ruleth over another to his own hurt.

¹⁰And so I saw the wicked buried, who had come and gone from the place of the holy, and they were forgotten in the city where they had so done: this is also vanity.

¹¹Because sentence against an evil work is not executed speedily, therefore the heart of the sons of men is fully set in them to do evil.

¹²Though a sinner do evil an hundred times, and his days be prolonged, yet surely I know that it shall be well with them that fear God, which fear before him:

¹³But it shall not be well with the wicked, neither shall he prolong his days, which are as a shadow; because he feareth not before God.

¹⁴There is a vanity which is done upon the earth; that there be just men, unto whom it happeneth according to the work of the wicked; again, there be wicked men, to whom it happeneth according to the work of the righteous: I said that this also is vanity.

¹⁵Then I commended mirth, because a man hath no better thing under the sun, than to eat, and to drink, and to be merry: for that shall abide with him of his labour the days of his life, which God giveth him under the sun.

¹⁶When I applied mine heart to know wisdom, and to see the business that is done upon the earth: (for also there is that neither day nor night seeth sleep with his eyes:)

¹⁷Then I beheld all the work of God, that a man cannot find out the work that is done under the sun: because though a man labour to seek it out, yet he shall not find it; yea further; though a wise man think to know it, yet shall he not be able to find it.

¹Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God: because many false prophets are gone out into the world.

²Hereby know ye the Spirit of God: Every spirit that confesseth that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is of God:

³And every spirit that confesseth not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is not of God: and this is that spirit of antichrist, whereof ye have heard that it should come; and even now already is it in the world.

⁴Ye are of God, little children, and have overcome them: because greater is he that is in you, than he that is in the world.

⁵They are of the world: therefore speak they of the world, and the world heareth them.

⁶We are of God: he that knoweth God heareth us; he that is not of God heareth not us. Hereby know we the spirit of truth, and the spirit of error.

⁷Beloved, let us love one another: for love is of God; and every one that loveth is born of God, and knoweth God.

⁸He that loveth not knoweth not God; for God is love.

⁹In this was manifested the love of God toward us, because that God sent his only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through him.

¹⁰Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins.

¹¹Beloved, if God so loved us, we ought also to love one another.

¹²No man hath seen God at any time. If we love one another, God dwelleth in us, and his love is perfected in us.

¹³Hereby know we that we dwell in him, and he in us, because he hath given us of his Spirit.

¹⁴And we have seen and do testify that the Father sent the Son to be the Saviour of the world.

¹⁵Whosoever shall confess that Jesus is the Son of God, God dwelleth in him, and he in God.

¹⁶And we have known and believed the love that God hath to us. God is love; and he that dwelleth in love dwelleth in God, and God in him.

¹⁷Herein is our love made perfect, that we may have boldness in the day of judgment: because as he is, so are we in this world.

¹⁸There is no fear in love; but perfect love casteth out fear: because fear hath torment. He that feareth is not made perfect in love.

¹⁹We love him, because he first loved us.

²⁰If a man say, I love God, and hateth his brother, he is a liar: for he that loveth not his brother whom he hath seen, how can he love God whom he hath not seen?

²¹And this commandment have we from him, That he who loveth God love his brother also.