New American Standard Bible 1995
Ecclesiastes 7:4
4The 1mind of the wise is in the house of mourning, While the 2mind of fools is in the house of pleasure.
Ecclesiastes 7:4 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)The heart of the wise is in the house of mourning; but the heart of fools is in the house of mirth.
- New International Version (NIV)The heart of the wise is in the house of mourning, but the heart of fools is in the house of pleasure.
- English Standard Version (ESV)The heart of the wise is in the house of mourning, but the heart of fools is in the house of mirth.
- New King James Version (NKJV)The heart of the wise is in the house of mourning, But the heart of fools is in the house of mirth.
Context of Ecclesiastes 7:4
2It is better to go to a house of mourning Than to go to a house of feasting, Because that is the end of every man, And the living takes it to heart. 3Sorrow is better than laughter, For when a face is sad a heart may be happy. The mind of the wise is in the house of mourning, While the mind of fools is in the house of pleasure. 5It is better to listen to the rebuke of a wise man Than for one to listen to the song of fools. 6For as the crackling of thorn bushes under a pot, So is the laughter of the fool; And this too is futility.
Read all of Ecclesiastes 7Ecclesiastes 7:4 word by word
לֵ֤ב חֲכָמִים֙ בְּבֵ֣ית אֵ֔בֶל וְלֵ֥ב כְּסִילִ֖ים בְּבֵ֥ית שִׂמְחָֽה׃Read the interlinear
Cross-references for Ecclesiastes 7:4
- Nehemiah 2:2So the king said to me, “Why is your face sad though you are not sick? This is nothing but sadness of heart.” Then I was very much afraid.
- Isaiah 53:3He was despised and forsaken of men, A man of sorrows and acquainted with grief; And like one from whom men hide their face He was despised, and we did not esteem Him.
- Matthew 8:14When Jesus came into Peter’s home, He saw his mother-in-law lying sick in bed with a fever.
- Mark 5:38They came to the house of the synagogue official; and He saw a commotion, and people loudly weeping and wailing.
- Luke 7:12Now as He approached the gate of the city, a dead man was being carried out, the only son of his mother, and she was a widow; and a sizeable crowd from the city was with her.
- John 11:31Then the Jews who were with her in the house, and consoling her, when they saw that Mary got up quickly and went out, they followed her, supposing that she was going to the tomb to weep there.
- 1 Samuel 25:36Then Abigail came to Nabal, and behold, he was holding a feast in his house, like the feast of a king. And Nabal’s heart was merry within him, for he was very drunk; so she did not tell him anything at all until the morning light.
- 1 Samuel 30:16When he had brought him down, behold, they were spread over all the land, eating and drinking and dancing because of all the great spoil that they had taken from the land of the Philistines and from the land of Judah.
- 2 Samuel 13:28Absalom commanded his servants, saying, “See now, when Amnon’s heart is merry with wine, and when I say to you, ‘Strike Amnon,’ then put him to death. Do not fear; have not I myself commanded you? Be courageous and be valiant.”
- 1 Kings 20:16They went out at noon, while Ben-hadad was drinking himself drunk in the temporary shelters with the thirty-two kings who helped him.
- Isaiah 21:4My mind reels, horror overwhelms me; The twilight I longed for has been turned for me into trembling.
- Jeremiah 51:39When they become heated up, I will serve them their banquet And make them drunk, that they may become jubilant And may sleep a perpetual sleep And not wake up,” declares the Lord.
- Daniel 5:1Belshazzar the king held a great feast for a thousand of his nobles, and he was drinking wine in the presence of the thousand.
- Hosea 7:5On the day of our king, the princes became sick with the heat of wine; He stretched out his hand with scoffers,
- Nahum 1:10Like tangled thorns, And like those who are drunken with their drink, They are consumed As stubble completely withered.
- Mark 6:21A strategic day came when Herod on his birthday gave a banquet for his lords and military commanders and the leading men of Galilee;
Commentaries on Ecclesiastes 7:4
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 4The heart of the wise is in the house of mourning - A wise man loves those occasions from which he can derive spiritual advantage; and therefore prefers visiting the sick, and sympathizing with those who have suffered privations by death. But the fool - the gay, thoughtless, and giddy - prefers places and times of diversion and amusement. Here he is prevented from seriously considering either himself or his latter end. The grand fault and misfortune of…Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 4House of mourning house of mirth - These phrases acquire a forcible significance from the Eastern custom of prolonging both festive and mournful celebrations through several days. See Genesis 50:10; Judges 14:17. This verse indicates that a life of enjoyment, does not mean the abandonment of ourselves to pleasures, but the thankful and sober use of the beautiful things which God gives us.Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 3-4good for the heart: Thinking clearly about death helps us understand the seriousness of God's curse on sin and shows us the importance of enjoying life wisely (Ecclesiastes 9:10).Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 1-29Ec 7:1-29. 1. (See on Ec 6:12). name--character; a godly mind and life; not mere reputation with man, but what a man is in the eyes of God, with whom the name and reality are one thing (Is 9:6). This alone is "good," while all else is "vanity" when made the chief end. ointment--used lavishly at costly banquets and peculiarly refreshing in the sultry East. The Hebrew for "name" and for "ointment," have a happy paronomasia, Sheem and Shemen. "Ointment" is…Read the comment
Topics related to Ecclesiastes 7:4
In the dictionaries
Notes
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
New American Standard Bible 1995 — © 1960–1995 The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved.
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