4. The heart of the wise is in a house of mourning,but the heart of fools is in a house of pleasure.
5. It is better to listen to rebuke from a wise personthan to listen to the song of fools,
6. for like the crackling of burning thorns under the pot, so is the laughter of the fool.This too is futile.
7. Surely, the practice of extortion turns a wise person into a fool, and a bribe destroys the mind.
8. The end of a matter is better than its beginning;a patient spirit is better than a proud spirit.
9. Don’t let your spirit rush to be angry,for anger abides in the heart of fools.
10. Don’t say, “Why were the former days better than these? ” since it is not wise of you to ask this.
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.