Holman Christian Standard Bible

Ecclesiastes 7:11-16 Holman Christian Standard Bible (HCSB)

11. Wisdom is as good as an inheritanceand an advantage to those who see the sun,

12. because wisdom is protection as money is protection,and the advantage of knowledgeis that wisdom preserves the life of its owner.

13. Consider the work of God, for who can straighten outwhat He has made crooked?

14. In the day of prosperity be joyful, but in the day of adversity, consider: God has made the one as well as the other, so that man cannot discover anything that will come after him.

15. In my futile life I have seen everything: there is a righteous man who perishes in spite of his righteousness, and there is a wicked man who lives long in spite of his evil.

16. Don’t be excessively righteous, and don’t be overly wise. Why should you destroy yourself?