Ecclesiastes 7:1-2
New American Bible (Revised Edition)
A. No One Can Find Out the Best Way of Acting
Chapter 7
Critique of Sages on the Day of Adversity
1 A good name is better than good ointment,[a]
and the day of death than the day of birth.(A)
2 It is better to go to the house of mourning
than to the house of feasting,
For that is the end of every mortal,
and the living should take it to heart.(B)
Footnotes
- 7:1 Ointment: a good name can be affirmed only with death, when one is normally anointed. The author dialogues in this section (vv. 1–14) with traditional wisdom, alternately affirming or countering its assertions. The real value of traditional wisdom lies in its ability to provoke one to thought and reflection, and not to absolve one from such activity.
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