Ecclesiastes 7:4–5

7:4 The heart of the wise is in the house of mourning,

but the heart of fools is in the house of merrymaking.19

Frivolous Living Versus Wisdom

7:5 It is better for a person to receive20 a rebuke from those who are wise21

than to listen to the song22 of fools.

19	sn The expression the house of merrymaking refers to a banquet where those who attend engage in self-indulgent feasting and riotous drinking.
20	tn Heb “hear.”
21	tn Heb “rebuke of the wise,” a subjective genitive (“the wise” administer the rebuke).
22	tn Or “praise.” The antithetical parallelism between “rebuke” (גַּעֲרַת, ga’arat) and “song” (שִׁיר, shir) suggests that the latter is figurative (metonymy of association) for praise/flattery which is “music” to the ears: “praise of fools” (NEB, NJPS) and “flattery of fools” (Douay). However, the collocation of “song” (שִׁיר) in 7:5 with “laughter” (שְׂחֹק, sékhoq) in 7:6 suggests simply frivolous merrymaking: “song of fools” (KJV, NASB, NIV, ASV, RSV, NRSV).