1  ^hA good name is better than precious ointment,

and ⁱthe day of death than the day of birth.

2  It is better to go to the house of mourning

than to go to the house of feasting,

for this is the end of all mankind,

and the living will ^jlay it to heart.

3  Sorrow is better than laughter,

^kfor by sadness of face the heart is made glad.

4  The heart of the wise is in the house of mourning,

but the heart of fools is in the house of mirth.

5  It is ^lbetter for a man to hear the rebuke of the wise

than to hear the song of fools.

6  ^mFor as the crackling of ⁿthorns under a pot,

so is the laughter of the fools;

this also is vanity.¹

7  Surely ^ooppression drives the wise into madness,

and ^pa bribe corrupts the heart.

8  Better is the end of a thing than its beginning,

and ^qthe patient in spirit is better than the proud in spirit.

9  ^rBe not quick in your spirit to become angry,

^sfor anger lodges in the heart² of fools.

10  Say not, “Why were the former days better than these?”

For it is not from wisdom that you ask this.

11  Wisdom is good with an inheritance,

an advantage to those who ^tsee the sun.

12  For the protection of wisdom is like ^uthe protection of money,

and the advantage of knowledge is that ^vwisdom preserves the life of him who has it.

13  Consider ^wthe work of God:

^xwho can make straight what he has made crooked?

^p“Fallen, fallen is Babylon the great!

She has become ^qa dwelling place for demons,

a haunt ^rfor every unclean spirit,

a haunt ^sfor every unclean bird,

a haunt for every unclean and detestable beast.

3  For all nations have drunk¹

^tthe wine of the passion of her sexual immorality,

and ^uthe kings of the earth have committed immorality with her,

and ^vthe merchants of the earth have grown rich from the power of her luxurious living.”

^w“Come out of her, my people,

lest you take part in her sins,

lest you share in her plagues;

5  for ^xher sins are heaped high as heaven,

and ^yGod has remembered her iniquities.

6  ^zPay her back as she herself has paid back others,

and repay her ^adouble for her deeds;

mix a double portion for her ^bin the cup she mixed.

7  ^cAs she glorified herself and lived in luxury,

so give her a like measure of torment and mourning,

since in her heart she says,

^d‘I sit as a queen,

I am no widow,

and mourning I shall never see.’

8  For this reason her plagues will come ^ein a single day,

death and mourning and famine,

and ^fshe will be burned up with fire;

for ^gmighty is the Lord God who has judged her.”

“Alas! Alas! ^lYou great city,

you mighty city, Babylon!

For ^min a single hour your judgment has come.”

14  “The fruit for which your soul longed

has gone from you,

and all your delicacies and your splendors

are lost to you,

never to be found again!”

16  “Alas, alas, for the great city

^qthat was clothed in fine linen,

in purple and scarlet,

adorned with gold,

with jewels, and with pearls!

17  For ^rin a single hour all this wealth ^shas been laid waste.”

^w“What city was like the great city?”

“Alas, alas, for the great city

^ywhere all who had ships at sea

grew rich by her wealth!

For ^zin a single hour she has been laid waste.

20  ^aRejoice over her, O heaven,

and you saints and ^bapostles and prophets,

for ^cGod has given judgment for you against her!”

“So will Babylon ^fthe great city be thrown down with violence,

and will be found no more;

22  and ^gthe sound of harpists and musicians, of flute players and trumpeters,

will be heard in you no more,

and a craftsman of any craft

will be found in you no more,

and ^hthe sound of the mill

will be heard in you no more,

23  and the light of a lamp

will shine in you no more,

and ⁱthe voice of bridegroom and bride

will be heard in you no more,

for ^jyour merchants were the great ones of the earth,

and all nations were deceived ^kby your sorcery.

24  And ^lin her was found the blood of prophets and of saints,

and of ^mall who have been slain on earth.”