Ecclesiastes 7

People Generally Do Not Know What is Best for Them

1 A good name [is] better than precious ointment, and the day of death [is better] than the day of one's birth.

2 Better to go to the house of mourning than to go to the house of feasting, for [death is] the end of every person, and the living should take [it] to his heart.

3 Sorrow [is] better than laughter, for by sadness of countenance the heart is made good.

4 The heart of the wise [is] in the house of mourning, but the heart of fools [is] in the house of mirth.

5 Better to listen to [the] rebuke of [the] wise than for a man to listen to [the] song of fools.

6 Like the sound of thorns under a pot, so also the laughter of fools. This also [is] vanity!

Wisdom—Although Vulnerable—is Beneficial

7 Surely oppression makes a fool of the wise, and a bribe corrupts the heart.

8 The end of a matter [is] better than its beginning; {better to be slow to anger than hot-headed}.

9 Do not be quick in your spirit to anger, for anger lodges in the bosom of fools.

10 Do not say, "Why were the former days better than these?" For [it is] not from wisdom [that] you ask this.

11 Wisdom [is] good with an inheritance; {it benefits the living}.

12 {For wisdom offers protection like money offers protection}. But knowledge [has] an advantage--wisdom restores life to its possessor.

Humans Must Accept God’s Will and Make the Best of It

13 Consider the work of God. For who is able to make straight what he made crooked?

14 In the day of prosperity, rejoice! But in the day of adversity, consider! For God made one in place of another so that mortals cannot find out what will happen {in the future}.

The Law of Retribution Does Not Always Work—but It Does Sometimes

15 I have seen all these things in my vain life: Sometimes a righteous man perishes in [spite of] his righteousness, and sometimes a wicked man lives a long life in [spite of] his evil.

16 Do not be excessively righteous, and do not act excessively wise, lest you destroy yourself.

17 Do not act excessively wicked, and do not be a fool, lest you die before your time.

18 [It is] good to take hold of the one and also must not let go of the other; for whoever fears God will hold both of them secure.

Wisdom is Valuable, but No One is Completely Righteous

19 Wisdom gives more strength to the wise than ten rulers who are in the city.

20 Surely there is no one righteous on the earth who [continually] does good and never sins.

21 Do not pay attention to everything people say, lest you hear your own servant curse you.

22 For your heart knows that you also have cursed others many times.

Absolute Wisdom is Unattainable

23 All this I have tested with wisdom. I said, "I will be wise!" but {it was beyond my grasp}.

24 {Whatever is--it is far beyond comprehension}. Who can discover it?

25 I set my mind to try to seek wisdom and the plan, and to know that wickedness [is] foolishness and that folly [is] delusion.

26 I myself found [that] more bitter than death [is] the woman who [is] a trap, whose heart [is] a snare, and whose hands [are] bonds. The one who pleases God escapes from her, but the sinner is caught by her.

27 "Look! I found this," said the Teacher, "while trying to find how the plan fits together.

28 What my heart sought, I did not find. Although I found one righteous man among one thousand, I did not find one [upright] woman among all these.

29 Look! This alone I found: God made mankind upright, but they have devised many schemes."

Ecclesiastes 7 Commentary

Chapter 7

The benefit of a good name; of death above life; of sorrow above vain mirth. (1-6) Concerning oppression, anger, and discontent. (7-10) Advantages of wisdom. (11-22) Experience of the evil of sin. (23-29)

Verses 1-6 Reputation for piety and honesty is more desirable than all the wealth and pleasure in this world. It will do more good to go to a funeral than to a feast. We may lawfully go to both, as there is occasion; our Saviour both feasted at the wedding of his friend in Cana, and wept at the grave of his friend in Bethany. But, considering how apt we are to be vain and indulge the flesh, it is best to go to the house of mourning, to learn the end of man as to this world. Seriousness is better than mirth and jollity. That is best for us which is best for our souls, though it be unpleasing to sense. It is better to have our corruptions mortified by the rebuke of the wise, than to have them gratified by the song of fools. The laughter of a fool is soon gone, the end of his mirth is heaviness.

Verses 7-10 The event of our trials and difficulties is often better than at first we thought. Surely it is better to be patient in spirit, than to be proud and hasty. Be not soon angry, nor quick in resenting an affront. Be not long angry; though anger may come into the bosom of a wise man, it passes through it as a way-faring man; it dwells only in the bosom of fools. It is folly to cry out upon the badness of our times, when we have more reason to cry out for the badness of our own hearts; and even in these times we enjoy many mercies. It is folly to cry up the goodness of former times; as if former ages had not the like things to complain of that we have: this arises from discontent, and aptness to quarrel with God himself.

Verses 11-22 Wisdom is as good as an inheritance, yea better. It shelters from the storms and scorching heat of trouble. Wealth will not lengthen out the natural life; but true wisdom will give spiritual life, and strengthen men for services under their sufferings. Let us look upon the disposal of our condition as the work of God, and at last all will appear to have been for the best. In acts of righteousness, be not carried into heats or passions, no, not by a zeal for God. Be not conceited of thine own abilities; nor find fault with every thing, nor busy thyself in other men's matters. Many who will not be wrought upon by the fear of God, and the dread of hell, will avoid sins which ruin their health and estate, and expose to public justice. But those that truly fear God, have but one end to serve, therefore act steadily. If we say we have not sinned, we deceive ourselves. Every true believer is ready to say, God be merciful to me a sinner. Forget not at the same time, that personal righteousness, walking in newness of life, is the only real evidence of an interest by faith in the righteousness of the Redeemer. Wisdom teaches us not to be quick in resenting affronts. Be not desirous to know what people say; if they speak well of thee, it will feed thy pride, if ill, it will stir up thy passion. See that thou approve thyself to God and thine own conscience, and then heed not what men say of thee; it is easier to pass by twenty affronts than to avenge one. When any harm is done to us, examine whether we have not done as bad to others.

Verses 23-29 Solomon, in his search into the nature and reason of things, had been miserably deluded. But he here speaks with godly sorrow. He alone who constantly aims to please God, can expect to escape; the careless sinner probably will fall to rise no more. He now discovered more than ever the evil of the great sin of which he had been guilty, the loving many strange women, ( 1 Kings ) found. How was he likely to find such a one among those he had collected? If any of them had been well disposed, their situation would tend to render them all nearly of the same character. He here warns others against the sins into which he had been betrayed. Many a godly man can with thankfulness acknowledge that he has found a prudent, virtuous woman in the wife of his bosom; but those men who have gone in Solomon's track, cannot expect to find one. He traces up all the streams of actual transgression to the fountain. It is clear that man is corrupted and revolted, and not as he was made. It is lamentable that man, whom God made upright, has found out so many ways to render himself wicked and miserable. Let us bless Him for Jesus Christ, and seek his grace, that we may be numbered with his chosen people.

Footnotes

• [a]. Literally "[one who is] long of spirit [is] better than [one who is] high of spirit"
• [b]. Literally "to those who see the sun"
• [c]. Literally "For in the shade of wisdom [is] the shade of money"
• [d]. Literally "after him"
• [e]. Or "abundantly"
• [f]. Literally "it [was] far from me"
• [g]. Literally "That which is--it [is] far and deep deep"
• [h]. Hebrew "Qohelet"

Chapter Summary

INTRODUCTION TO ECCLESIASTES 7

The wise man having exposed the many vanities to which men are subject in this life, and showed that there is no real happiness in all outward enjoyments under the sun; proceeds to observe what are remedies against them, of which he had interspersed some few hints before, as the fear and worship of God, and the free and, moderate use of the creatures; and here suggests more, and such as will protect from them, or support under them, or teach and instruct how to behave while attended with them, and to direct to what are proper and necessary in the pursuit of true and real happiness; such as care of a good name and reputation, Ec 7:1; frequent meditation on mortality, Ec 7:2-4; listening to the rebukes of the wise, which are preferable to the songs and mirth of fools, Ec 7:5,6; avoiding oppression and bribery, which are very pernicious, Ec 7:7; patience under provocations, and present bad times, as thought to be, Ec 7:8-10; a pursuit of that wisdom and knowledge which has life annexed to it, Ec 7:11,12; submission to the will of God, and contentment in every state, Ec 7:13,14; shunning extremes in righteousness and sin, the best antidote against which is the fear of God, Ec 7:15-18; such wisdom as not to be offended with everything that is done, or word that is spoken, considering the imperfection of the best of men, the weakness of others, and our own, Ec 7:19-22; and then the wise man acknowledges the imperfection of his own wisdom and knowledge, notwithstanding the pains he had taken, Ec 7:23-25; and laments his sin and folly in being drawn aside by women, Ec 7:26-28; and opens the cause of the depravity of human nature, removes it from God, who made man upright, and ascribes it to man, the inventor of evil things, Ec 7:29.