Ecclesiastes 7:1-29 What Is Better?

What Is Better?

Ecclesiastes 7:1-29            The Book of Ecclesiastes [in Smaller Chunks]

A good name is better than precious ointment. And the day of death [is better] than the day of [someone's] birth. It 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 [take it] to heart. [Psalm 39:5-7 [See,] You [have] made my days [like] the [width of a hand;] & [my] age is [like] nothing before You. [Truly,] every man at his best state [in life] is altogether vanity. Selah. Surely, every man [walks, a.k.a. follows,] in a vain [resemblance of life.] Surely, they are [troubled] in vain, & he [heaps] up riches, & [doesn't know] who shall gather, [a.k.a. inherit,] them. And now, Lord, what [do] I wait for? My hope is in You.]

Sorrow is better than laughter: for the [face,] & the [heart's mood] is made better by sadness. [1 Thessalonians 4:13-18 But I wouldn't have [wanted] you to be ignorant, [a.k.a. unaware,] brethren, [about those, who] are asleep, [a.k.a. have died, so] that you [aren't sorrowful,] even [like] others, [who] have no hope. For if we believe that Jesus died, & rose again, even so [those who have believed] in Jesus, [who] also sleep, God will bring [those] with Him.

For we say this to you, [through] the Word of the Lord, [so] that we [who] are alive, & remain, [until] the Lord [comes,] shall not prevent [those, who] are asleep [from joining God in heaven.] For the Lord, Himself, shall descend from heaven with a shout, & with the voice of the Archangel, & with the [trumpet] [blare] of God. And the dead in Christ shall rise first. Then, we [believers,] [who] are alive, & remain, shall be caught up together with [those] [who were dead,] in the clouds, to meet [up with] the Lord in the air. And so we shall [always] be with the Lord. [For this reason,] comfort one another with these words.]

The heart of the wise is in the house of mourning; but the heart of fools is in the house of [happiness.] It is better to hear the [correction] of the wise, than for a man to hear the song of fools. [Galatians 6:1 Brethren, if a man [is caught] in a fault, & you [who] are spiritual, restore such [a person,] in the spirit of meekness, [a.k.a. humbleness,] & [examine] yourself, lest you also [are] tempted.]

For [like] the [sound of] the crackling thorns [burning] under a pot, so is the [sound of the] laughter of the fool. This is also vanity. [Psalm 80:6 You [make] us [quarrel with] our [neighbors,] & our enemies laugh among themselves.]

Surely oppression [makes] a wise man [angry,] & a gift, [a.k.a. bribe, destroys] the heart. [Exodus 23: And you [shall] take no gift, [a.k.a. bribe.] For the [bribe blinds] [the eyes of] the wise, & [diverts] the words of the righteous.]

Better is the end of a thing, than the beginning [of it] & [those] patient in spirit [are] better than the proud in spirit. [James 1:2-3 My brethren, [consider] it all [a] joy when you fall into [various] temptations. Knowing this, that the [testing] of your faith, [works, a.k.a. produces,] patience.]

[Don't] be [quick] to be angry in your spirit. For anger [rests] in the [chest] of fools. [James 1:18-20 [From] His Own will, [God begot] us with the Word of Truth, [so] that should be a kind of first-fruits of His creatures. [For this reason,] my beloved brethren, [a.k.a. fellow-believers,] let every man be [quick] to hear, slow to speak, & slow to [fury.] For the [fury] of a man, [doesn't produce] the righteousness of God.]

[Don't] you say, What is the [reason] that the [previous] days were better than these? For you [don’t inquire] wisely [about] this. Wisdom is good with an inheritance, & [through wisdom, it's beneficial, for those who] see the sun.

For wisdom, & money [are] a defense: but the [advantage] of knowledge is, that wisdom [gives] life to [those who] have it, [a.k.a. wisdom.] [Proverbs 3:13-14 Happy is the man [who finds] wisdom, & the man [who gets] understanding. For the [value] of it is better than the [value] of silver, & the [profit of it] [is more beneficial] than fine gold.]

Consider the work of God, for who can make straight, [what] He [has] made crooked? [On] the day of prosperity, be joyful, but [on] the day of adversity [contemplate:] God [has] also [put] the one, [a.k.a. prosperity] over, [next to] the other, [a.k.a. adversity,] to the end, that after him, [a.k.a when he's dead,] man should find nothing. [Proverbs 28:13 He [who covers, a.k.a. hides,] his sins shall not prosper. But [whoever confesses,] & [abandons these,] shall have mercy.]

All the things I've seen [during the days of my vanity: there is a just, [a.k.a. honest,] man, [who perishes] in his righteousness, & there is a wicked man, [who prolongs] his life in his wickedness.

[Ecclesiastes 8:14 There is a vanity, which is done upon the earth: that there [are] just, [a.k.a. honest,] men, to whom it [happens,] according to the work of the wicked. Again, there [are] wicked men, to whom it [happens,] according to the work of the righteous. I said that this is also vanity, [like trying to grab the wind.]

[Don’t] be [overly] righteous, & neither make yourself [overly] wise. Why [should] you destroy yourself? [Don't] be [overly] wicked, & neither be foolish. Why [should] you die before your time? [Psalm 55:23 O God, but You [shall] bring them, [the:] [bloodthirsty,] & deceitful men, [who] shall not live out 1/2 their days, down into the pit of destruction, but I will trust in You.]

It is good that you [should] take [stock] of this. [Yes,] also [don't] withdraw your hand from this: for he, [who fears, a.k.a. respects,] God, shall come [forward from] them all. [Ecclesiastes 8:12-13 [Although] a sinner [does] [what is:] evil 100 times, & his days are prolonged, surely, I [still] know that it shall [go] well with [those, who] fear, [a.k.a. respect,] God, & [who] [demonstrate] [respect] before God. But it shall not [go] well [for] the wicked, & neither shall He prolong his days, [that] are [like] a shadow, because he [doesn't] [demonstrate] [respect] before God.]

Wisdom [strengthens] the wise more than 10 mighty men, [who] are in the city. [Colossians 1:9-10 Since the day we heard it, we also, for this [reason,] don't [stop from praying] for you, & [desiring] that you might be filled in: all wisdom & spiritual understanding, with the knowledge of [God's] will. [So] that you might walk, [a.k.a. follow,] worthy of the Lord, [doing all that's] pleasing, being fruitful, [a.k.a. productive,] in every good work, [a.k.a. deed,] & increasing in the knowledge of God.]

For there isn't a just, [a.k.a. honest,] man upon the earth, [who] does good, & doesn't [sin.] [Romans 3:23-25 For all have sinned, & come short of the glory of God; Being freely justified by [God's] grace, through the Redemption that is [through] Christ Jesus. Whom god [has put] to be a propitiation, [a.k.a. an atonement,] through faith in His blood, to declare His righteousness for the remission, [a.k.a. forgiveness,] of [previous] sins, through the [patience] of God.]

Also, [don't pay attention] to all the words that are spoken: lest you hear your servant curse you. For your own heart also [knows] that you [have often,] cursed others yourself, [similarly.] [Through] wisdom, I have [tested] all this. I said, I will be wise, but it was far from me. [Romans 1:21-22 Because that when they knew God, they [didn't glorify] Him, as God, & neither were [they] thankful;] but became vain in their imaginations, & their foolish heart was darkened. Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools.]

Who can [figure] it out, that which is far [away, & exceedingly] deep? [Romans 11:33 How unsearchable are [God's] judgments, [a.k.a. justice,] & ways, past finding out! Both: of the depth of the [richness] of [God's] wisdom, & knowledge!

I applied [my] heart to seek, to search, & to know [what is:] wisdom, & the reason [for] things, & the wickedness of folly, [a.k.a. not having good judgment,] even foolishness, & madness, [a.k.a. insanity.] And [what] I find more bitter than death [is] the woman, whose heart is [full of plots for:] [traps,] & nets, & her hands [are] [like chains.] [Proverbs 9:14 For she [sits] on a seat at the door of her house, in the high places of the city, to call [those] who [pass] right [by] on their [way.] Let him, [whoever] is simple [minded, a.k.a. naive,] turn in [here.] As for him [who lacks] understanding, she [says] to him, Stolen waters are sweet, & bread eaten in secret is pleasant. But he [doesn't know] that the dead are there, & that her guests are in the depths of hell.]

[Whoever pleases] God shall escape from her, but the sinner shall be [captured] by her. [Look,] I have found this, [says] the preacher, counting 1 by 1, to find out the [total captured.] [James 1:12 Blessed is the man [who endures] temptation. For when he is [tested,] he shall receive the crown of [Eternal] Life, which the Lord [has] promised to [those, who] love Him.]

[What] my soul [still seeks,] but I [can't] find. I have found 1 [wise] man among 1,000, but I haven't found a woman among all those. [Job 33:22-24 [Yes,] his soul [draws] near to the grave, & his life [draws near] the destroyers. If there [is] a messenger with him, an interpreter, [or] [someone] among 1,000, to [declare] a man's [honesty] to [him;] then [God] is gracious to him, & [says] Deliver him from going down to the pit. I have found a ransom, [a.k.a. an atonement.]

[Look,] I have only found this, that God [has] made man [upright, a.k.a. honest;] but they have sought out many [schemes.] [Jeremiah 17:9-10 The heart is deceitful, & desperately wicked above all things. Who can know it? I, the Lord, search the heart, & I [test] the [heart strings,] even to give [to] every man according to his ways, & according to the fruit [produced from] his [actions.]