Passage

Ecclesiastes 7.9

Book: Ecclesiastes · NASB95

Immediate context (±2 verses)

ASV

7. Surely extortion maketh the wise man foolish; and a bribe destroyeth the understanding. 8. Better is the end of a thing than the beginning thereof; and the patient in spirit is better than the proud in spirit.

9. Be not hasty in thy spirit to be angry; for anger resteth in the bosom of fools.

Say not thou, What is the cause that the former days were better than these? for thou dost not inquire wisely concerning this. 11. Wisdom is as good as an inheritance; yea, more excellent is it for them that see the sun. (Ecclesiastes 7:7-11, ASV)

WEB

7. Surely extortion makes the wise man foolish; and a bribe destroys the understanding. 8. Better is the end of a thing than its beginning. The patient in spirit is better than the proud in spirit.

9. Don’t be hasty in your spirit to be angry, for anger rests in the bosom of fools.

Don’t say, “Why were the former days better than these?” For you do not ask wisely about this. 11. Wisdom is as good as an inheritance. Yes, it is more excellent for those who see the sun. (Ecclesiastes 7:7-11, WEB)

KJV

7. Surely oppression maketh a wise man mad; and a gift destroyeth the heart. 8. Better is the end of a thing than the beginning thereof: and the patient in spirit is better than the proud in spirit.

9. Be not hasty in thy spirit to be angry: for anger resteth in the bosom of fools.

Say not thou, What is the cause that the former days were better than these? for thou dost not enquire wisely concerning this. ^{wisely: Heb. out of wisdom} 11. Wisdom is good with an inheritance: and by it there is profit to them that see the sun. ^{good: or, as good as an inheritance, yea, better too} (Ecclesiastes 7:7-11, KJV)

YLT

7. Surely oppression maketh the wise mad, And a gift destroyeth the heart. 8. Better [is] the latter end of a thing than its beginning, Better [is] the patient of spirit, than the haughty of spirit.

9. Be not hasty in thy spirit to be angry, For anger in the bosom of fools resteth.

Say not thou, 'What was it, That the former days were better than these?' For thou hast not asked wisely of this. 11. Wisdom [is] good with an inheritance, And an advantage [it is] to those beholding the sun. (Ecclesiastes 7:7-11, YLT)

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Setting

Speaker: TBD
Audience: TBD
Location: TBD
Time period: TBD

Theological reading

Patristic / early-church-father exegesis, to be added.

Key words

Theologically-loaded Greek or Hebrew words in this verse may have entries in the lexicon. Curated to roughly 100 contested terms across the corpus, not every word.

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TBD
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Notes

Your annotations.

Why these four translations

ris3n chose ASV, WEB, KJV, and YLT for two reasons together. They are the most literal English translations available (formal-equivalence: word-for-word renderings that preserve the Hebrew and Greek grammar rather than smoothing it into modern dynamic-equivalence idiom). And they are in the public domain in the United States, which means fair-use quotation at any length requires no publisher license. Modern licensed translations (NASB95, ESV, NIV) restrict volume of quotation under their copyright terms, so they are not used at stub-level coverage here. NASB95 appears only on hand-curated rich passage hubs under Lockman Foundation's fair-use allowance.

The four:

ASV (American Standard Version, 1901). The basis of the modern critical-text English tradition.
WEB (World English Bible, contemporary). Public-domain revision in the ASV line, in current English.
KJV (King James Version, 1611). Reformation-era, Textus Receptus base.
YLT (Young's Literal Translation, Robert Young, 1862). Hyper-literal preservation of Hebrew and Greek grammar; useful for word-study work even where English reads stiff.

See Bibles for the full per-translation history, translators, textual basis, strengths, and weaknesses.