Ecclesiastes 7:2, Ecclesiastes 7:3 NIV

Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary - Ecclesiastes 7:1-6

In these verses Solomon lays down some great truths which seem paradoxes to the unthinking part, that is, the far greatest part, of mankind. I. That the honour of virtue is really more valuable and desirable than all the wealth and pleasure in this world (Eccl. 7:1): A good name is before good ointment (so it may be read); it is preferable to it, and will be rather chosen by all that are wise. Good ointment is here put for all the profits of the earth (among the products of which oil was... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Ecclesiastes 7:2

It is better to go to the house of mourning ,.... For deceased relations or friends, who either lie unburied, or have been lately inferred; for the Jews kept their mourning for their dead several days afterwards, when their friends visited them in order to comfort them, as the Jews did Martha and Mary, John 11:31 . So the Targum here, "it is better to go to a mourning man to comfort him;' for at such times and places the conversation was serious and interesting, and turned upon the... read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Ecclesiastes 7:2

It 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 occasion for serious and deeply... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Ecclesiastes 7:1-7

Section 1. Though no man knows for certain what is best, yet there are some practical rules for the conduct of life which wisdom gives . Some of these Koheleth sets forward in the proverbial form, recommending a serious, earnest life in preference to one of gaiety and frivolity. read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Ecclesiastes 7:2

It is better to go to the house of mourning, than to go to the house of feasting. The thought in the last verse leads to the recollection of the circumstances which accompany the two events therein mentioned—birth and death, feasting and joy, in the first case; sorrow and mourning in the second. In recommending the sober, earnest life, Koheleth teaches that wiser, more enduring lessons are to be learned where grief reigns than in the empty and momentary excitement of mirth and joyousness.... read more

Albert Barnes

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible - Ecclesiastes 7:2

That - Namely, what is seen in the house of mourning.Lay it to his heart - Consider it attentively. read more

Joseph Benson

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

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 7:2

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

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

Ecclesiastes 7:2, Ecclesiastes 7:3 Niv