Ecclesiastes 7:1-4,Ecclesiastes 7:2

Joseph Benson's Commentary of the Old and New Testaments - Ecclesiastes 7:2

Ecclesiastes 7:2. It is better to go to the house of mourning Where mourners meet together to celebrate the funerals of deceased friends; than to the house of feasting Where people meet to indulge their appetites in eating and drinking, in which they frequently go to excess. For that Namely, death, the cause of that mourning; is the end of all men Is a lot that awaits all mankind, and to see instances of it tends to bring them to the serious consideration of their own last end, which... read more

Joseph Benson

Joseph Benson's Commentary of the Old and New Testaments - Ecclesiastes 7:3-4

Ecclesiastes 7:3-4. Sorrow is better than laughter Either sorrow for sin, or even sorrow on other accounts; for by the sadness of the countenance Sadness seated in the heart, but manifested in the countenance; the heart is made better Is more weaned from the lusts and vanities of this world, by which most men are ensnared and destroyed; and more quickened to seek after and embrace that true and everlasting happiness which God offers to them in his word. The heart of the wise is in the... read more

Donald C. Fleming

Bridgeway Bible Commentary - Ecclesiastes 7:1-14

Proverbs about life and death (7:1-14)The writer now faces up to the fact that people have to make their way through life in spite of its various misfortunes. Through a collection of proverbs he points out that whatever circumstances they find themselves in, they should use them to the best advantage.To begin with, people should desire a good reputation. If they live worthwhile lives, the day of their death will be more important than the day of their birth. It will be the climax that confirms... read more

E.W. Bullinger

E.W. Bullinger's Companion Bible Notes - Ecclesiastes 7:1

name . . . ointment. Note the Figure of speech Paronomasia ( App-6 ), " shem mishshemen". better. See note on Ecclesiastes 2:24 . precious = good. Same word as "good" at the beginning of the sentence. read more

E.W. Bullinger

E.W. Bullinger's Companion Bible Notes - Ecclesiastes 7:2

the end. Hebrew. soph . See note on Ecclesiastes 3:11 . men. Hebrew. 'addm (with Art.) = mankind. App-14 . See note on Ecclesiastes 1:13 . read more

E.W. Bullinger

E.W. Bullinger's Companion Bible Notes - Ecclesiastes 7:4

fools = fat, inert. Hebrew. kesil. Same word as in verses: Ecclesiastes 7:5 , Ecclesiastes 7:6 , Ecclesiastes 7:9 , Ecclesiastes 7:25 ("folly"). Not the same as "foolish "(Ecclesiastes 7:17 ), or "foolishness", Ecclesiastes 7:25 . See note on "poverty", Proverbs 1:7 . read more

James Burton Coffman

Coffman Commentaries on the Bible - Ecclesiastes 7:1

Some scholars see this chapter as an attempt to answer the question implied in Ecclesiastes 6:12, "Who knoweth what is good for man"? However that verse may be read as a declaration that, "No one knows what is good for man." Many of the assertions in this chapter reveal that Solomon himself, in spite of all his vaunted research, experience, and searching had by no means solved the problem with any degree of completeness.God supernaturally endowed Solomon with great wisdom; but that cannot be a... read more

Thomas Coke

Thomas Coke Commentary on the Holy Bible - Ecclesiastes 7:3

Ecclesiastes 7:3. Sorrow is better than laughter— A sorrowful appearance is often better than laughter; for, notwithstanding the sadness of the countenance, the heart may be happy: Desvoeux: who thinks, that not real sorrow, but the appearance of it only, is meant; such a serious countenance as is compatible with inward joy and satisfaction, though absolute grief does not seem to be so. read more

Robert Jamieson; A. R. Fausset; David Brown

Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible - Ecclesiastes 7:1

1. (See on :-). 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 (Isaiah 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 fragrant only in the place where the person is whose... read more

Robert Jamieson; A. R. Fausset; David Brown

Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible - Ecclesiastes 7:2

2. Proving that it is not a sensual enjoyment of earthly goods which is meant in Ecclesiastes 3:13; Ecclesiastes 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 (Ecclesiastes 1:4; Ecclesiastes 1:5). 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 more

Joseph Benson's Commentary of the Old and New Testaments - Ecclesiastes 7:2

Joseph Benson's Commentary of the Old and New Testaments - Ecclesiastes 7:3-4

Bridgeway Bible Commentary - Ecclesiastes 7:1-14

E.W. Bullinger's Companion Bible Notes - Ecclesiastes 7:1

E.W. Bullinger's Companion Bible Notes - Ecclesiastes 7:2

E.W. Bullinger's Companion Bible Notes - Ecclesiastes 7:4

Coffman Commentaries on the Bible - Ecclesiastes 7:1

Thomas Coke Commentary on the Holy Bible - Ecclesiastes 7:3

Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible - Ecclesiastes 7:1

Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible - Ecclesiastes 7:2

Group of Brands