Ecclesiastes 7:3–9

3 Sorrow is better than laughter,

for by sadness of face the heart is made glad.

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

but the heart of fools is in the house of mirth.

5 It is better for a man to hear the rebuke of the wise

than to hear the song of fools.

6 For as the crackling of thorns under a pot,

so is the laughter of the fools;

this also is vanity.

7 Surely oppression drives the wise into madness,

and a bribe corrupts the heart.

8 Better is the end of a thing than its beginning,

and the patient in spirit is better than the proud in spirit.

9 Be not quick in your spirit to become angry,

for anger lodges in the heart of fools.

3 Sorrow is better than laughter: for by the sadness of the countenance the heart is made better. 4 The heart of the wise is in the house of mourning; but the heart of fools is in the house of mirth. 5 It is better to hear the rebuke of the wise, than for a man to hear the song of fools. 6 For as the crackling of thorns under a pot, so is the laughter of the fool: this also is vanity.

7 Surely oppression maketh a wise man mad; and a gift destroyeth the heart. 8 Better is the end of a thing than the beginning thereof: and the patient in spirit is better than the proud in spirit. 9 Be not hasty in thy spirit to be angry: for anger resteth in the bosom of fools.

3 Sorrow is better than laughter,

for sadness has a refining influence on us.

4 A wise person thinks a lot about death,

while a fool thinks only about having a good time.

5 Better to be criticized by a wise person

than to be praised by a fool.

6 A fool’s laughter is quickly gone,

like thorns crackling in a fire.

This also is meaningless.

7 Extortion turns wise people into fools,

and bribes corrupt the heart.

8 Finishing is better than starting.

Patience is better than pride.

9 Control your temper,

for anger labels you a fool.

3 Sorrow is better than laughter,

For by a sad countenance the heart is made better.

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

But the heart of fools is in the house of mirth.

5 It is better to hear the rebuke of the wise

Than for a man to hear the song of fools.

6 For like the crackling of thorns under a pot,

So is the laughter of the fool.

This also is vanity.

7 Surely oppression destroys a wise man’s reason,

And a bribe debases the heart.

8 The end of a thing is better than its beginning;

The patient in spirit is better than the proud in spirit.

9 Do not hasten in your spirit to be angry,

For anger rests in the bosom of fools.

3 Sorrow is better than laughter,

and sadness has a good influence on you.

4 A wise person thinks about death,

but a fool thinks only about having a good time.

5 It is better to be criticized by a wise person

than to be praised by a fool.

6 The laughter of fools

is like the crackling of thorns in a cooking fire.

Both are useless.

7 Even wise people are fools

if they let money change their thinking.

8 It is better to finish something

than to start it.

It is better to be patient

than to be proud.

9 Don’t become angry quickly,

because getting angry is foolish.

3 Sorrow is better than laughter; for by the sadness of the countenance the heart is made glad. 4 The heart of the wise is in the house of mourning; but the heart of fools is in the house of mirth.

5 It is better to hear the rebuke of the wise, than for a man to hear the song of fools. 6 For as the crackling of thorns under a pot, so is the laughter of the fool: this also is vanity. 7 Surely extortion maketh the wise man foolish; and a bribe destroyeth the understanding.

8 Better is the end of a thing than the beginning thereof; and the patient in spirit is better than the proud in spirit. 9 Be not hasty in thy spirit to be angry; for anger resteth in the bosom of fools.

3 Vexation is better than laughter; for by the sadness of the countenance the heart is made better. 4 The heart of the wise is in the house of mourning, but the heart of fools in the house of mirth. 5 It is better for a man to hear the rebuke of the wise, than to hear the song of fools. 6 For as the crackling of thorns under a pot, so is the laughter of the fool. This also is vanity.

7 Surely oppression maketh a wise man mad, and a gift destroyeth the heart. 8 Better is the end of a thing than its beginning; better is a patient spirit than a proud spirit. 9 Be not hasty in thy spirit to be vexed; for vexation resteth in the bosom of fools.

3 Sorrow is better than laughter because, in spite of a sad face, the heart can be joyful. 4 The minds of wise people think about funerals, but the minds of fools think about banquets. 

5 It is better to listen to wise people who reprimand you than to fools who sing your praises. 6 The laughter of a fool is like the crackling of thorns burning under a pot. Even this is pointless. 

7 Oppression can turn a wise person into a fool, and a bribe can corrupt the mind. 

8 The end of something is better than its beginning. It is better to be patient than arrogant. 

9 Don’t be quick to get angry, because anger is typical of fools.

3 Grief is better than laughter,

for when a face is sad, a heart may be glad.

4 The heart of the wise is in a house of mourning,

but the heart of fools is in a house of pleasure.

5 It is better to listen to rebuke from a wise person

than to listen to the song of fools,

6 for like the crackling of burning thorns under the pot,

so is the laughter of the fool.

This too is futile.

7 Surely, the practice of extortion turns a wise person into a fool,

and a bribe destroys the mind.

8 The end of a matter is better than its beginning;

a patient spirit is better than a proud spirit.

9 Don’t let your spirit rush to be angry,

for anger abides in the heart of fools.

3 Sorrow is better than laughter,

for by sadness of countenance the heart is made glad.

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

but the heart of fools is in the house of mirth.

5 It is better to hear the rebuke of the wise

than to hear the song of fools.

6 For like the crackling of thorns under a pot,

so is the laughter of fools;

this also is vanity.

7 Surely oppression makes the wise foolish,

and a bribe corrupts the heart.

8 Better is the end of a thing than its beginning;

the patient in spirit are better than the proud in spirit.

9 Do not be quick to anger,

for anger lodges in the bosom of fools.

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!

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.

3 Sadness is good for the heart.

That’s why sorrow is better than laughter.

4 Those who are wise are found where there is sorrow.

But foolish people are found where there is pleasure.

5 Pay attention to a wise man’s warning.

That’s better than listening to the songs of those who are foolish.

6 A foolish person’s laughter

is like the crackling of thorns burning under a pot.

That doesn’t have any meaning either.

7 When a wise man takes wealth by force, he becomes foolish.

It is sinful to take money from people who want special favors.

8 The end of a matter is better than its beginning.

So it’s better to be patient than proud.

9 Don’t become angry quickly.

Anger lives in the hearts of foolish people.

3 Sorrow is better than laughter,

For when a face is sad a heart may be happy.

4 The mind of the wise is in the house of mourning,

While the mind of fools is in the house of pleasure.

5 It is better to listen to the rebuke of a wise man

Than for one to listen to the song of fools.

6 For as the crackling of thorn bushes under a pot,

So is the laughter of the fool;

And this too is futility.

7 For oppression makes a wise man mad,

And a bribe corrupts the heart.

8 The end of a matter is better than its beginning;

Patience of spirit is better than haughtiness of spirit.

9 Do not be eager in your heart to be angry,

For anger resides in the bosom of fools.