New English Translation
Ecclesiastes 7:4
4The heart of the wise is in the house of mourning, but the heart of fools is in the house of merrymaking.
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 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. The heart of the wise is in the house of mourning, but the heart of fools is in the house of merrymaking. 5It is better for a person to receive a rebuke from those who are wise than to listen to the song of fools. 6For like the crackling of quick-burning thorns under a cooking pot, so is the laughter of the fool. This kind of folly also is useless.
Read all of Ecclesiastes 7Ecclesiastes 7:4 word by word
לֵ֤ב חֲכָמִים֙ בְּבֵ֣ית אֵ֔בֶל וְלֵ֥ב כְּסִילִ֖ים בְּבֵ֥ית שִׂמְחָֽה׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
Cross-references for Ecclesiastes 7:4
- Nehemiah 2:2So the king said to me, “Why do you appear to be depressed when you aren’t sick? What can this be other than sadness of heart?” This made me very fearful.
- Isaiah 53:3He was despised and rejected by people, one who experienced pain and was acquainted with illness; people hid their faces from him; he was despised, and we considered him insignificant.
- Matthew 8:14Now when Jesus entered Peter’s house, he saw his mother-in-law lying down, sick with a fever.
- Mark 5:38They came to the house of the synagogue ruler where he saw noisy confusion and people weeping and wailing loudly.
- Luke 7:12As he approached the town gate, a man who had died was being carried out, the only son of his mother (who was a widow), and a large crowd from the town was with her.
- John 11:31Then the people who were with Mary in the house consoling her saw her get up quickly and go out. They followed her, because they thought she was going to the tomb to weep there.
- 1 Samuel 25:36When Abigail went back to Nabal, he was holding a banquet in his house like that of the king. Nabal was having a good time and was very intoxicated. She told him absolutely nothing until morning’s light.
- 1 Samuel 30:16So he took David down, and they found them spread out over the land. They were eating and drinking and enjoying themselves because of all the loot they had taken from the land of the Philistines and from the land of Judah.
- 2 Samuel 13:28Absalom instructed his servants, “Look! When Amnon is drunk and I say to you, ‘Strike Amnon down,’ kill him then and there. Don’t fear! Is it not I who have given you these instructions? Be strong and courageous!”
- 1 Kings 20:16They marched out at noon, while Ben Hadad and the thirty-two kings allied with him were drinking heavily in their quarters.
- Isaiah 21:4My heart palpitates, I shake in fear; the twilight I desired has brought me terror.
- Jeremiah 51:39When their appetites are all stirred up, I will set out a banquet for them. I will make them drunk so that they will pass out, they will fall asleep forever, they will never wake up,” says the Lord.
- Daniel 5:1King Belshazzar prepared a great banquet for a thousand of his nobles, and he was drinking wine in front of them all.
- Hosea 7:5At the celebration of their king, his princes become inflamed with wine; they conspire with evildoers.
- Nahum 1:10Surely they will be totally consumed like entangled thorn bushes, like the drink of drunkards, like very dry stubble.
- Mark 6:21But a suitable day came, when Herod gave a banquet on his birthday for his court officials, military commanders, and leaders 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
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
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