Ecclesiastes 7:2-14

Common English Bible

² It is better to go to a house in mourning
    than to a house party,
    because that is everyone’s destiny;
    and the living should take it to heart.
³ Aggravation is better than merriment
    because a sad face may lead to a glad heart.
⁴ The wise heart is in the house that mourns,
    but the foolish heart is in the house that rejoices.
⁵ It is better to obey the reprimand of the wise
    than to listen to the song of fools,
⁶     because the fool’s merriment
    is like nettles crackling under a kettle.
        That too is pointless.
⁷ Oppression turns the wise into fools;
    a bribe corrupts the heart.
⁸ The end of something is better than its beginning.
    Patience is better than arrogance.
⁹ Don’t be too quick to get angry
    because anger lives in the fool’s heart.
¹⁰ Don’t ask, “How is it that the former days were better than these?”
    because it isn’t wise to ask this.
¹¹ Wisdom is as good as^[a] an inheritance—
    an advantage for those who see the sun.
¹² Wisdom’s protection is like the protection of money;
    the advantage of knowledge is that wisdom preserves the lives of its possessors.