Add parallel Print Page Options

It is better to be criticized by the wise
    than praised by the foolish.
The laughter of fools is such a waste.
    It is like thorns burning under a pot.
The thorns burn so quickly
    that the pot does not get hot.[a]
Even the wise will forget their wisdom,
    if someone pays them enough.
    That money destroys their understanding.

Read full chapter

Footnotes

  1. Ecclesiastes 7:6 Or “The cackling of fools, like the crackling of thorns under a pot, is senseless.”

It is better to heed the rebuke(A) of a wise person
    than to listen to the song of fools.
Like the crackling of thorns(B) under the pot,
    so is the laughter(C) of fools.
    This too is meaningless.

Extortion turns a wise person into a fool,
    and a bribe(D) corrupts the heart.

Read full chapter