¹⁵In my futile life I have seen both of these: ¹⁶Do not be overly righteous, and do not make yourself too wise. Why should you destroy yourself? ¹⁷Do not be excessively wicked, and do not be a fool. Why should you die before your time? ¹⁸It is good to grasp the one and not let the other slip from your hand. For he who fears God will follow both warnings. ¹⁹Wisdom makes the wise man ²⁰Surely there is no righteous man on earth ²¹Do not pay attention to every word that is spoken, or you may hear your servant cursing you. ²²For you know in your heart that many times you yourself have cursed others. ²³All this I tested by wisdom, saying, “I resolve to be wise.” But it was beyond me. ²⁴What exists is out of reach and very deep. Who can fathom it? ²⁵I directed my mind to understand, to explore, to search out wisdom and explanations, and to understand the stupidity of wickedness and the folly of madness. ²⁶And I find more bitter than death the woman who is a snare, whose heart is a net, and whose hands are chains. The man who pleases God escapes her, but the sinner is ensnared. ²⁷“Behold,” says the Teacher, “I have discovered this by adding one thing to another to find an explanation. ²⁸While my soul was still searching but not finding, among a thousand I have found one upright man, but among all these I have not found one such woman. ²⁹Only this have I found: I have discovered that God made mankind upright, but they have sought out many schemes.”