God’s Word Translation
Ecclesiastes 7:6
6The laughter of a fool is like the crackling of thorns burning under a pot. Even this is pointless.
Ecclesiastes 7:6 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)For as the crackling of thorns under a pot, so is the laughter of the fool: this also is vanity.
- New International Version (NIV)Like the crackling of thorns under the pot, so is the laughter of fools. This too is meaningless.
- English Standard Version (ESV)For as the crackling of thorns under a pot, so is the laughter of the fools; this also is vanity.
- New King James Version (NKJV)For like the crackling of thorns under a pot, So is the laughter of the fool. This also is vanity.
Context of Ecclesiastes 7:6
4The minds of wise people think about funerals, but the minds of fools think about banquets. 5It is better to listen to wise people who reprimand you than to fools who sing your praises. The laughter of a fool is like the crackling of thorns burning under a pot. Even this is pointless. 7Oppression can turn a wise person into a fool, and a bribe can corrupt the mind. 8The end of something is better than its beginning. It is better to be patient than arrogant.
Read all of Ecclesiastes 7Ecclesiastes 7:6 word by word
כִּ֣י כְק֤וֹל הַסִּירִים֙ תַּ֣חַת הַסִּ֔יר כֵּ֖ן שְׂחֹ֣ק הַכְּסִ֑יל וְגַם־זֶ֖ה הָֽבֶל׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
Cross-references for Ecclesiastes 7:6
- Ecclesiastes 2:2I thought, “Laughter doesn’t make any sense. What does pleasure accomplish?”
- Psalms 58:9Let ⌞God⌟ sweep them away faster than a cooking pot is heated by burning twigs.
- Psalms 118:12They swarmed around me like bees, but they were extinguished like burning thornbushes. ⌞So armed⌟ with the name of the Lord, I defeated them.
- Isaiah 65:13This is what the Lord God says: My servants will eat, but you will be hungry. My servants will drink, but you will be thirsty. My servants will be glad, but you will be ashamed.
- Amos 8:10I will turn your festivals into funerals and all your songs into funeral songs. I will put sackcloth around everyone’s waist and shave everyone’s head. I will make that day seem like a funeral for an only child, and its end will be bitter.
- Luke 6:25How horrible it will be for those who are well-fed. They will be hungry. How horrible it will be for those who are laughing. They will mourn and cry.
- Luke 16:25“Abraham replied, ‘Remember, my child, that you had a life filled with good times, while Lazarus’ life was filled with misery. Now he has peace here, while you suffer.
- 2 Peter 2:13and lose what their wrongdoing earned them. These false teachers are stains and blemishes. They take pleasure in holding wild parties in broad daylight. They especially enjoy deceiving you while they eat with you.
- Jude 1:12These people are a disgrace at the special meals you share with other believers. They eat with you and don’t feel ashamed. They are shepherds who care ⌞only⌟ for themselves. They are dry clouds blown around by the winds. They are withered, uprooted trees without any fruit. As a result, they have died twice.
- Proverbs 29:9When a wise person goes to court with a stubborn fool, he may rant and rave, but there is no peace and quiet.
Commentaries on Ecclesiastes 7:6
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 6For as the crackling of thorns - They make a great noise, a great blaze; and are extinguished in a few moments. Such indeed, comparatively, are the joys of life; they are noisy, flashy, and transitory.Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 6As the crackling of thorns - Noisy while it lasts, and quickly extinguished. See Psalm 58:9 note.Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 5-6Praise from a fool and enjoying a fool’s laughter are temporary and worthless. Criticism from a wise person can lead to real benefits (Proverbs 17:10).Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 66. crackling--answers to the loud merriment of fools. It is the very fire consuming them which produces the seeming merry noise (Joe 2:5). Their light soon goes out in the black darkness. There is a paronomasia in the Hebrew, Sirim ("thorns"), Sir ("pot"). The wicked are often compared to "thorns" (2Sa 23:6; Na 1:10). Dried cow-dung was the common fuel in Palestine; its slowness in burning makes the quickness of a fire of thorns the more graphic, as an…Read the comment
Topics related to Ecclesiastes 7:6
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
God’s Word Translation — © 1995 God’s Word to the Nations Bible Society
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