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 heart¹ 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?