Summary
The chapter opens with the contrast between a good name and precious ointment, then repeatedly favors mourning, sorrow, and wisdom over feasting, laughter, and foolishness. It stresses the value of listening to wise rebuke, patience, and measured anger. The narrator reflects on how the past may seem better but cautions against excessive righteousness or wickedness, noting that even the just can die and the wicked can live. He asserts that wisdom provides true inheritance, defense, and life, while money offers only superficial protection. The passage concludes with the inscrutability of divine wisdom and the difficulty of fully understanding God's purposes.