Ecclesiastes 7
1 A good name is better than precious ointment; and the day of death than the day of one's birth.
2 It is better to go to the house of mourning, than to go to the house of feasting: for that is the end of all men; and the living will lay it to his heart.
3 Sorrow is better than laughter: for by the sadness of the countenance the heart is made better.
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 better to hear the rebuke of the wise, than for a man to hear the song of fools.
6 For as the crackling of thorns under a pot, so is the laughter of the fool: this also is vanity.
7 Surely oppression maketh a wise man mad; and a gift destroyeth the heart.
8 Better is the end of a thing than the beginning thereof: and the patient in spirit is better than the proud in spirit.
9 Be not hasty in thy spirit to be angry: for anger resteth in the bosom of fools.
10 Say not thou, What is the cause that the former days were better than these? for thou dost not enquire wisely concerning this.
11 Wisdom is good with an inheritance: and by it there is profit to them that see the sun.
12 For wisdom is a defence, and money is a defence: but the excellency of knowledge is, that wisdom giveth life to them that have it.
13 Consider the work of God: for who can make that straight, which he hath made crooked?
14 In the day of prosperity be joyful, but in the day of adversity consider: God also hath set the one over against the other, to the end that man should find nothing after him.
15 All things have I seen in the days of my vanity: there is a just man that perisheth in his righteousness, and there is a wicked man that prolongeth his life in his wickedness.
16 Be not righteous over much; neither make thyself over wise: why shouldest thou destroy thyself?
17 Be not over much wicked, neither be thou foolish: why shouldest thou die before thy time?
18 It is good that thou shouldest take hold of this; yea, also from this withdraw not thine hand: for he that feareth God shall come forth of them all.
19 Wisdom strengtheneth the wise more than ten mighty men which are in the city.
20 For there is not a just man upon earth, that doeth good, and sinneth not.
21 Also take no heed unto all words that are spoken; lest thou hear thy servant curse thee:
22 For oftentimes also thine own heart knoweth that thou thyself likewise hast cursed others.
23 All this have I proved by wisdom: I said, I will be wise; but it was far from me.
24 That which is far off, and exceeding deep, who can find it out?
25 I applied mine heart to know, and to search, and to seek out wisdom, and the reason of things, and to know the wickedness of folly, even of foolishness and madness:
26 And I find more bitter than death the woman, whose heart is snares and nets, and her hands as bands: whoso pleaseth God shall escape from her; but the sinner shall be taken by her.
27 Behold, this have I found, saith the preacher, counting one by one, to find out the account:
28 Which yet my soul seeketh, but I find not: one man among a thousand have I found; but a woman among all those have I not found.
29 Lo, this only have I found, that God hath made man upright; but they have sought out many inventions.
World Behind This Chapter
Explore the people, places, language, history, and material world connected to Ecclesiastes 7.
Why are so many sayings phrased “better than”?
Comparative proverbs force readers to weigh two situations rather than memorize absolute rules. Mourning/feasting, patience/pride, ending/beginning, and wisdom/wealth are evaluated through contrast.
What does “be not righteous over much” mean in this argument?
The Hebrew wording is provocative and has generated substantial debate. It appears within a larger discussion of wisdom, justice, mortality, and the impossibility of finding a perfectly righteous person, so isolated slogans can misrepresent the unit.
Why does Qoheleth say he could not find “the woman” among a thousand?
The passage reflects the male speaker’s rhetoric and ancient gender assumptions. It should be read alongside the immediately broader conclusion that God made humankind upright but humans pursued many schemes, rather than universalized as an empirical claim about women.
Research PathsCurated links for exploring this chapter 3
History & Daily Life1
- Mourning and Burial in Ancient IsraelBible Odyssey
Scholarly overview of death, burial, mourning customs, family tombs, lamentation, and beliefs about the dead in ancient Israel. This gives concrete cultural meaning to Ecclesiastes 7’s claim that visiting a house of mourning can teach the living more than attending a feast.
Language & Literature2
- Ecclesiastes 7 in Hebrew and EnglishMechon Mamre
Presents the Hebrew chapter beside an English translation. Useful for following its linked contrasts between name and perfume, mourning and feasting, wisdom and folly, patience and pride, nostalgia and attention to the present, righteousness and wickedness, and the limits of human investigation.
- Why Ecclesiastes Says Sorrow Can Be Better Than LaughterTranslation Insights and Perspectives
Explains the chapter’s provocative series of “better than” sayings: reputation over perfume, death over birth, mourning over feasting, and sorrow over laughter. It helps readers understand that Qoheleth is contrasting experiences by their capacity to produce reflection rather than condemning all celebration.
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