Ecclesiastes 7:15-28

¹⁵All this I have seen in my days of vanity: there is a righteous man who perishes in his righteousness, and there is a wicked man who lives long in his evildoing.

¹⁶Don’t be overly righteous, neither make yourself overly wise. Why should you destroy yourself?

¹⁷Don’t be too wicked, neither be foolish. Why should you die before your time?

¹⁸It is good that you should take hold of this. Yes, also don’t withdraw your hand from that; for he who fears God will come out of them all.

¹⁹Wisdom is a strength to the wise man more than ten rulers who are in a city.

²⁰Surely there is not a righteous man on earth who does good and doesn’t sin.

²¹Also don’t take heed to all words that are spoken, lest you hear your servant curse you;

²²for often your own heart knows that you yourself have likewise cursed others.

²³All this I have proved in wisdom. I said, “I will be wise;” but it was far from me.

²⁴That which is, is far off and exceedingly deep. Who can find it out?

²⁵I turned around, and my heart sought to know and to search out, and to seek wisdom and the scheme of things, and to know that wickedness is stupidity, and that foolishness is madness.

²⁶I find more bitter than death the woman whose heart is snares and traps, whose hands are chains. Whoever pleases God shall escape from her; but the sinner will be ensnared by her.

²⁷“Behold, I have found this,” says Kohelet, “to one another, to find an explanation

²⁸which my soul still seeks, but I have not found. I have found one man among a thousand, but I have not found a woman among all those.