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 Living Translation (NLT)Better to spend your time at funerals than at parties. After all, everyone dies— so the living should take this to heart.

Context of Ecclesiastes 7:2

1A good name is better than precious ointment, And the day of death than the day of one’s birth; 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. 3Sorrow is better than laughter, For by a sad countenance the heart is made better. 4The heart of the wise is in the house of mourning, But the heart of fools is in the house of mirth.

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 48:1Now it came to pass after these things that Joseph was told, “Indeed your father is sick”; and he took with him his two sons, Manasseh and Ephraim.
• Genesis 49:2“Gather together and hear, you sons of Jacob, And listen to Israel your father.
• Genesis 50:15When Joseph’s brothers saw that their father was dead, they said, “Perhaps Joseph will hate us, and may actually repay us for all the evil which we did to him.”
• Job 1:4And his sons would go and feast in their houses, each on his appointed day, and would send and invite their three sisters to eat and drink with them.
• Isaiah 5:11Woe to those who rise early in the morning, That they may follow intoxicating drink; Who continue until night, till wine inflames them!
• Isaiah 22:12And in that day the Lord God of hosts Called for weeping and for mourning, For baldness and for girding with sackcloth.
• Amos 6:3Woe to you who put far off the day of doom, Who cause the seat of violence to come near;
• Matthew 5:4Blessed are those who mourn, For they shall be comforted.
• Matthew 14:6But when Herod’s birthday was celebrated, the daughter of Herodias danced before them and pleased Herod.
• 1 Peter 4:3For we have spent enough of our past lifetime in doing the will of the Gentiles—when we walked in lewdness, lusts, drunkenness, revelries, drinking parties, and abominable idolatries.
• Numbers 23:10“Who can count the dust of Jacob, Or number one-fourth of Israel? Let me die the death of the righteous, And let my end be like his!”
• Deuteronomy 32:29Oh, that they were wise, that they understood this, That they would consider their latter end!
• Romans 6:21What fruit did you have then in the things of which you are now ashamed? For the end of those things is death.
• Philippians 3:19whose end is destruction, whose god is their belly, and whose glory is in their shame—who set their mind on earthly things.
• Hebrews 9:27And as it is appointed for men to die once, but after this the judgment,
• Deuteronomy 32:46and he said to them: “Set your hearts on all the words which I testify among you today, which you shall command your children to be careful to observe—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