Ecclesiastes 7:2

Ecclesiastes 7:2 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)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.
• New International Version (NIV)It is better to go to a house of mourning than to go to a house of feasting, for death is the destiny of everyone; the living should take this to heart.
• English Standard Version (ESV)It is better to go to the house of mourning than to go to the house of feasting, for this is the end of all mankind, and the living will lay it to heart.
• New King James Version (NKJV)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 take it to heart.

Context of Ecclesiastes 7:2

1A good reputation is better than precious perfume; likewise, the day of one’s death is better than the day of one’s birth. It is better to go to a funeral than a feast. For death is the destiny of every person, and the living should take this to heart. 3Sorrow is better than laughter, because sober reflection is good for the heart. 4The heart of the wise is in the house of mourning, but the heart of fools is in the house of merrymaking.

Ecclesiastes 7:2 word by word

ט֞וֹב לָלֶ֣כֶת אֶל־בֵּֽית־אֵ֗בֶל מִלֶּ֙כֶת֙ אֶל־בֵּ֣ית מִשְׁתֶּ֔ה בַּאֲשֶׁ֕ר ה֖וּא ס֣וֹף כָּל־הָאָדָ֑ם וְהַחַ֖י יִתֵּ֥ן אֶל־לִבּֽוֹ׃Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• betterטוֹבţôb · pleasantH2896
• to goיָלַךְyâlak · to walkH3212
• to the houseבַּ֫יִתbayith · house: homeH1004
• of mourningאֵ֫בֶל'êbel · mourningH60
• of feastingמִשְׁתֶּהmishteh · feastH4960
• forבַאֲשֶׁר'ăsher · in whichH834
• the endסוֹףsôph · endH5490
• of all menאָדָם'âdâm · manH120
• and the livingחַיchay · aliveH2416
• will layנָתַןnâthan · to give: putH5414
• to his heartלֵבlêb · heartH3820

Cross-references for Ecclesiastes 7:2

• Genesis 48:1After these things Joseph was told, “Your father is weakening.” So he took his two sons Manasseh and Ephraim with him.
• Genesis 49:2“Assemble and listen, you sons of Jacob; listen to Israel, your father.
• Genesis 50:15When Joseph’s brothers saw that their father was dead, they said, “What if Joseph bears a grudge and wants to repay us in full for all the harm we did to him?”
• Job 1:4Now his sons used to go and hold a feast in the house of each one in turn, and they would send and invite their three sisters to eat and to drink with them.
• Isaiah 5:11Those who get up early to drink beer are as good as dead, those who keep drinking long after dark until they are intoxicated with wine.
• Isaiah 22:12At that time the sovereign master, the Lord who commands armies, called for weeping and mourning, for shaved heads and sackcloth.
• Amos 6:3You refuse to believe a day of disaster will come, but you establish a reign of violence.
• Matthew 5:4“Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.
• Matthew 14:6But on Herod’s birthday, the daughter of Herodias danced before them and pleased Herod,
• 1 Peter 4:3For the time that has passed was sufficient for you to do what the non-Christians desire. You lived then in debauchery, evil desires, drunkenness, carousing, drinking bouts, and wanton idolatries.
• Numbers 23:10Who can count the dust of Jacob, Or number the fourth part of Israel? Let me die the death of the upright, and let the end of my life be like theirs.”
• Deuteronomy 32:29I wish that they were wise and could understand this, and that they could comprehend what will happen to them.”
• Romans 6:21So what benefit did you then reap from those things that you are now ashamed of? For the end of those things is death.
• Philippians 3:19Their end is destruction, their god is the belly, they exult in their shame, and they think about earthly things.
• Hebrews 9:27And just as people are appointed to die once, and then to face judgment,
• Deuteronomy 32:46he said to them, “Keep in mind all the words I am solemnly proclaiming to you today; you must command your children to observe carefully all the words of this law.

Commentaries on Ecclesiastes 7:2

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 2It is better to go to the house of mourning - Birthdays were generally kept with great festivity, and to these the wise man most probably refers; but according to his maxim, the miseries of life were so many and so oppressive that the day of a man's death was to be preferred to the day of his birth. But, in dependently of the allusion, it is much more profitable to visit the house of mourning for the dead than the house of festivity. In the former we find…Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 2That - Namely, what is seen in the house of mourning. Lay it to his heart - Consider it attentively.Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 1-4These proverbs are like the sayings in the Book of Proverbs.Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 22. Proving that it is not a sensual enjoyment of earthly goods which is meant in Ec 3:13; 5:18. A thankful use of these is right, but frequent feasting Solomon had found dangerous to piety in his own case. So Job's fear (Ec 1:4, 5). The house of feasting often shuts out thoughts of God and eternity. The sight of the dead in the "house of mourning" causes "the living" to think of their own "end."Read the comment

Topics related to Ecclesiastes 7:2

• Afflictions and Adversities
• Amusements and Worldly Pleasures
• Bereavement
• Death
• Sympathy

In the dictionaries

• Adversity
• Bosom
• Consider
• Crackling
• Living
• Rest
• End
• Synagogue, the Great

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