English Standard Version
Ecclesiastes 7:7
7Surely oppression drives the wise into madness, and a bribe corrupts the heart.
Ecclesiastes 7:7 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)Surely oppression maketh a wise man mad; and a gift destroyeth the heart.
- New International Version (NIV)Extortion turns a wise person into a fool, and a bribe corrupts the heart.
- New King James Version (NKJV)Surely oppression destroys a wise man’s reason, And a bribe debases the heart.
- New Living Translation (NLT)Extortion turns wise people into fools, and bribes corrupt the heart.
Context of Ecclesiastes 7:7
5It is better for a man to hear the rebuke of the wise than to hear the song of fools. 6For as the crackling of thorns under a pot, so is the laughter of the fools; this also is vanity. Surely oppression drives the wise into madness, and a bribe corrupts the heart. 8Better is the end of a thing than its beginning, and the patient in spirit is better than the proud in spirit. 9Be not quick in your spirit to become angry, for anger lodges in the heart of fools.
Read all of Ecclesiastes 7Ecclesiastes 7:7 word by word
כִּ֥י הָעֹ֖שֶׁק יְהוֹלֵ֣ל חָכָ֑ם וִֽיאַבֵּ֥ד אֶת־לֵ֖ב מַתָּנָֽה׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
Cross-references for Ecclesiastes 7:7
- Deuteronomy 28:33A nation that you have not known shall eat up the fruit of your ground and of all your labors, and you shall be only oppressed and crushed continually,
- Exodus 23:8And you shall take no bribe, for a bribe blinds the clear-sighted and subverts the cause of those who are in the right.
- Deuteronomy 16:19You shall not pervert justice. You shall not show partiality, and you shall not accept a bribe, for a bribe blinds the eyes of the wise and subverts the cause of the righteous.
- 1 Samuel 8:3Yet his sons did not walk in his ways but turned aside after gain. They took bribes and perverted justice.
- 1 Samuel 12:3Here I am; testify against me before the Lord and before his anointed. Whose ox have I taken? Or whose donkey have I taken? Or whom have I defrauded? Whom have I oppressed? Or from whose hand have I taken a bribe to blind my eyes with it? Testify against me and I will restore it to you."
- Proverbs 17:23The wicked accepts a bribe in secret to pervert the ways of justice.
- Isaiah 1:23Your princes are rebels and companions of thieves. Everyone loves a bribe and runs after gifts. They do not bring justice to the fatherless, and the widow's cause does not come to them.
- Isaiah 33:15He who walks righteously and speaks uprightly, who despises the gain of oppressions, who shakes his hands, lest they hold a bribe, who stops his ears from hearing of bloodshed and shuts his eyes from looking on evil,
Commentaries on Ecclesiastes 7:7
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 7Oppression maketh a wise man mad - This has been translated with good show of reason, "Surely oppression shall give lustre to a wise man: but a gift corrupteth the heart." The chief difference here is in the word יהולל yeholel, which, from the root הלל halal, signiffes to glister, irradiate, as well as to move briskly, to be mad, furious, in a rage; and certainly the former meaning suits this place best. We cannot think that the wise man - he that is…Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 7Rather, oppression (or extortions) maketh a wise man foolish; and a bribe etc. If a wise man, being in a high position, exercises oppression (see Psalm 62:10), or practices extortion, he becomes a fool in so doing. This verse is a warning against impatience in the exercise of power or the acquisition of riches.Read the comment
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 7-10Verses 7-10 The event of our trials and difficulties is often better than at first we thought. Surely it is better to be patient in spirit, than to be proud and hasty. Be not soon angry, nor quick in resenting an affront. Be not long angry; though anger may come into the bosom of a wise man, it passes through it as a way-faring man; it dwells only in the bosom of fools. It is folly to cry out upon the badness of our times, when we have more reason to cry…Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 1-22God's control over everything is serious, but it gives us hope.Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 77. oppression--recurring to the idea (Ec 3:16; 5:8). Its connection with Ec 7:4-6 is, the sight of "oppression" perpetrated by "fools" might tempt the "wise" to call in question God's dispensations, and imitate the folly (equivalent to "madness") described (Ec 7:5,6). Weiss, for "oppression," translates, "distraction," produced by merriment. But Ec 5:8 favors English Version. a gift--that is, the sight of bribery in "places of judgment" (Ec 3:16) might…Read the comment
Topics related to Ecclesiastes 7:7
In the dictionaries
Commentaries on Ecclesiastes 7
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
- Tyndale Open Study Notes
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
- Rashi on Tanakh
- Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
- John Wesley’s Notes
- Darby Translation Notes
- Geneva Bible Translation Notes
- Kingcomments
- Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
- Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
- Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
- Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
- EGW Writings
English Standard Version — © 2001 Crossway Bibles
Commentaries