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1.
A good name is better than fine perfume, and the day of death better than the day of birth.
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2.
It is better to go to a house of mourning than to go to a house of feasting, for death is the destiny of every man; the living should take this to heart.
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3.
Sorrow is better than laughter, because a sad face is good for the heart.
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4.
The heart of the wise is in the house of mourning, but the heart of fools is in the house of pleasure.
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5.
It is better to heed a wise man's rebuke than to listen to the song of fools.
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6.
Like the crackling of thorns under the pot, so is the laughter of fools. This too is meaningless.
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7.
Extortion turns a wise man into a fool, and a bribe corrupts the heart.
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8.
The end of a matter is better than its beginning, and patience is better than pride.
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9.
Do not be quickly provoked in your spirit, for anger resides in the lap of fools.
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10.
Do not say, "Why were the old days better than these?" For it is not wise to ask such questions.
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11.
Wisdom, like an inheritance, is a good thing and benefits those who see the sun.
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12.
Wisdom is a shelter as money is a shelter, but the advantage of knowledge is this: that wisdom preserves the life of its possessor.
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13.
Consider what God has done: Who can straighten what he has made crooked?
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14.
When times are good, be happy; but when times are bad, consider: God has made the one as well as the other. Therefore, a man cannot discover anything about his future.
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15.
In this meaningless life of mine I have seen both of these: a righteous man perishing in his righteousness, and a wicked man living long in his wickedness.
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16.
Do not be overrighteous, neither be overwise--why destroy yourself?
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17.
Do not be overwicked, and do not be a fool--why die before your time?
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18.
It is good to grasp the one and not let go of the other. The man who fears God will avoid all extremes.
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19.
Wisdom makes one wise man more powerful than ten rulers in a city.
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20.
There is not a righteous man on earth who does what is right and never sins.
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21.
Do not pay attention to every word people say, or you may hear your servant cursing you--
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22.
for you know in your heart that many times you yourself have cursed others.
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23.
All this I tested by wisdom and I said, "I am determined to be wise"--but this was beyond me.
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24.
Whatever wisdom may be, it is far off and most profound--who can discover it?
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25.
So 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.
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26.
I 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.
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27.
"Look," says the Teacher, "this is what I have discovered: "Adding one thing to another to discover the scheme of things--
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28.
while I was still searching but not finding--I found one upright man among a thousand, but not one upright woman among them all.
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29.
This only have I found: God made mankind upright, but men have gone in search of many schemes."
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