Ecclesiastes 7:3

Ecc 7:3 Sorrow [is] better than laughter: for by the sadness of the countenance the heart is made better.

Ver. 3. Sorrow is better than laughter.] Here, as likewise in the two former verses, is a collation and prelation; "Sorrow," or indignation conceived for sin, "is better than laughter," - i.e., carnal and profane mirth. This is παραδοξον αλλ ου παραλογον, as Nazianzen speaks in another case, a paradox to the world, but such as may sooner and better be proven than those paradoxes of the ancient Stoics. The world is a perfect stranger to the truth of this sacred position, as being all set upon the merry pin, and having so far banished sadness, as that they are no less enemies to seriousness, than the old Romans were to the name of the Tarquins. These Philistines cannot see how "out of this eater can come meat, and out of this strong, sweet"; how any man should reasonably persuade them to "turn their laughter into mourning, and joy into heaviness." {Jas 4:9} A pound of grief, say they, will not pay an ounce of debt; a little mirth is worth a great deal of sorrow; there is nothing better than for a man to eat and drink and laugh himself fat: spiritus Calvinianus, spiritus melancholicus - a Popish proverb - to be precise and godly is to bid adieu to all mirth and jollity, and to spend his days in heaviness and horror. This is the judgment of the mad world, ever beside itself in point of salvation. But what saith our Preacher, who had the experience of both, and could best tell? Sorrow is better, for it makes the heart better; it betters the better part, and is therefore compared to fire, that purgeth out the dross of sin, to water, that washeth out the dregs of sin, yea, to eye water, sharp, but sovereign. By washing in these troubled waters the conscience is cured, and God’s Naamans cleansed. By feeding upon this bitter sweet root, God’s penitentiaries are fenced against the temptations of Satan, the corruption of their own hearts, and the allurements of this present evil world. These tears drive away the devil much better than holy water, as they call it; they quench hell flames, and as April showers, they bring on in full force the May flowers both of grace {1Pe 5:5} and of glory. {Jer 4:14} What an ill match therefore make our mirthmongers, that purchase laughter many times with shame, loss, misery, beggary, rottenness of body, distress, damnation, that hunt after it to hell, and light a candle at the devil for lightsomeness of heart, by haunting ale houses, brothel houses, conventicles of good fellowship, sinful and unseasonable sports, and other vain fooleries, in the froth whereof is bred and fed that worm that never dies? A man is nearest danger when he is most merry, said Mr Greenham. And God cast not man out of paradise, saith another reverend man, that he might here build him another, but that, as that bird of paradise, he might always be upon the wing, and if at any time taken, never leave groaning and grieving till he be delivered. This will bring him a paradise of sweetest peace, and make much for the lengthening of his tranquillity and consolation. {Dan 4:27} Oh, how sweet a thing is it at the feet of Jesus to stand weeping, to water them with tears, to dry them with sighs, and to kiss them with our mouths! Only those that have made their eyes a fountain to wash Christ’s feet in, may look to have Christ’s heart a fountain to bathe their souls in.

John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Ecc_7:3

Sorrow is better than laughter.

Sorrow better than laughter

Sorrow is set over against laughter; the house of mourning over against the house of mirth; the rebuke of the wise over against the music of fools; the day of death over against the day of birth: all tending, however, to this, that trouble and grief have their bright side, and that giddy indulgence and merriment carry a sting.

I. Sorrow is better than laughter, because a great part of worldly merriment is no better than folly. Here we take no extreme or ascetic ground. It would be morose and unchristian to scowl at the gambols of infancy, or to hush the laugh of youth, on fit occasions. Cheerfulness is nowhere forbidden, even in adult life; and we perhaps offend God oftener by our frowns than by our smiles. But you all know that there is a merriment which admits no rule, confines itself by no limit, shocks every maxim even of sober reason, absorbs the whole powers, wastes the time, and debilitates the intellect, even if it do not lead to supreme love of pleasure, profligacy, and general intemperance and voluptuousness.

II. Sorrow is better than laughter, because much of worldly merriment tends to no intellectual or moral good. Worldly pleasures, and the expressions of these, do nothing for the immaterial part. The utmost that can be pretended is that they amuse and recreate. In their very notion they are exceptions, and should be sparing. But there are a thousand recreative processes connected with healthful exercise, with knowledge, with the study of beautiful nature, with the practice and contemplation of art, and with the fellowship of friends, which unbend the tense nerve and refresh the wasted spirits, while at the same time they instruct the mind and soften or tranquillize the heart. Not so with the unbridled joys which find vent in redoubled peals of mirth and obstreperous carousal, or in the lighter play of chattered nonsense end never-ending giggle.

III. Sorrow is better than laughter, because worldly mirth is short. In the Eastern countries, where fuel is very scarce, every combustible shrub, brush, and bramble is seized upon for culinary fires. Of these the blaze is bright, hot, and soon extinct. Such is worldly mirth. For as the crackling of thorns under a pot, so is the laughter of the fool. It is noisy--more noisy than if there were anything in it. But it soon ceases. Physical limits are put to gay pleasures. The loudest laughter cannot laugh for ever. Lungs and diaphragm forbid and rebel. There is a time of life when such pleasures become as difficult as they are ungraceful; and there is not in society a more ridiculous object, even in its own circle, than a tottering, antiquated, bedizened devotee of fashion. Grief comes in and shortens the amusement. Losses and reverses shorten it. And, if there were nothing else, pleasure must be short, because it cannot be extended to judgment and eternity.

IV. Worldly mirth is unsatisfying. Vanity of vanities, all is vanity, i.e. emptiness and disappointment. The man wonders why the toys and rattles which pleased him once please him now no more. They are vanity, and all is vanity; and every day that he lives longer will make it more formidable vanity. Now, pray observe, the case is directly the reverse with regard to sound intellectual and spiritual enjoyments; for which the capacity is perpetually increasing with its indulgence.

V. Sorrow is better than laughter, because sorrow breeds reflection. There can be no contemplation amidst the riot of self-indulgence; but the house of mourning is a meditative abode. Before they were afflicted, a large proportion of Gods people went astray; and, if they live long enough, they can all declare that the solemn pauses of their bereavement, illness, poverty, shame, and fear, have been better to them than the dainties of the house of feasting.

VI. Sorrow is better than laughter, because sorrow brings lessons of wisdom. Sufferers not only think but learn. Many sermons could not record all the lessons of affliction. It tells us wherein we have offended. It takes us away from the flattering crowd, and from seducing charmers, and keenly reaches, with its probe, the hidden iniquity. This is less pleasing than worldly joy, but it is more profitable. The Bible is the chief book in the house of mourning--read by some there who have never read it elsewhere, and revealing to its most assiduous students new truths, shining forth in affliction like stars which hays been hidden in daylight.

VII. Sorrow is better than laughter, because sorrow amends the heart and life. Not by any efficiency of good; of such efficiency, pain, whether of body or mind, knows nothing; but by becoming the vehicle of Divine influences. The ways of Providence are such, that troubled spirits, bathed in tears, are repeatedly made to cry with a joy which swallows up all foregoing griefs, Before we were afflicted we went astray, but now have we kept Thy law!

VIII. Sorrow is better than laughter, because sorrow likens us to Him whom we love. You know His name. He is the Man of Sorrows--the companion or brother of grief. His great work, even our salvation, was not more by power or holiness than by sorrows. He took our flesh that He might bear our sorrows. If we suffer with Him, we shall also reign with Him.

IX. Sorrow is better than laughter, because sorrow ends in joy. The very resistance of a virtuous mind to adversity--the bracing of the frame--the breasting of the torrent--the patience, the resignation, the hope amidst the billows, the high resolve and courage that mount more boldly out of the surge of grief, the silent endurance of the timid and the frail, when out of weakness they are made strong--these, and such as these, increase the capacity for future holiness and heavenly bliss. These are they that have come out of great tribulation. (J. W. Alexander, D. D.)

The service of sorrow

I. Sorrow serves to promote individualism of soul.

1. A deep practical sense of self-responsibility is essential to the virtue, the power, and progress of the soul.

2. Social influences, especially in this age of combinations, tend to destroy this and absorb the individual in the mass.

3. Sorrow is one of the most individualizing of forces. Sorrow detaches man from all, isolates him, makes him feel his loneliness.

II. Sorrow serves to humanize our affections. It helps us go feel for others; to weep with those who weep, etc.

III. Sorrow serves to spiritualize our nature. There are tremendous forces ever at work to materialize. Sorrow takes us away into the spiritual; makes us feel alone with God, and view the world as but a passing show.

IV. Sorrow serves to prepare us to appreciate christianity. The Gospel is a system to heal broken hearts. Who appreciates pardon, but the sorrowing penitent? Who values the doctrine of a parental providence, but the tried? Who the doctrine of the resurrection, but the bereaved and the dying? (Homilist.)

The Biblical Illustrator, edited by Joseph S. Exell (c. 1880s–1900s) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Ecc 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 house of mourning — Even when their bodies are absent. They are constantly, or very frequently, meditating upon serious things, such as death and judgment, the vanity of this life, and the reality and eternity of the next; because they know that these thoughts, though they be not grateful to man’s carnal mind, yet are absolutely necessary and highly profitable, and productive of great comfort in the end, which every wise man most regards. But the heart of fools is in the house of mirth — Their minds and affections are wholly set upon feasting, jollity, and merriment, because, like fools and irrational animals, they regard only their present delight, and mind not how dearly they must pay for it.

Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

7:3-4 refining influence: Thinking soberly about death leads us to see the severity of God’s curse on sin and convinces us of the need to enjoy life wisely (9:10).

Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

He speaketh thus after the judgment of the flesh, which thinketh death to be the end of all evils, or else, because that this corporal death is the entering into life everlasting.

Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain. Text via Bolls.life.

Sorrow--such as arises from serious thoughts of eternity.

laughter--reckless mirth (Ecc 2:2).

by the sadness . . . better-- (Psa 126:5-6; Co2 4:17; Heb 12:10-11). MAURER translates: "In sadness of countenance there is (may be) a good (cheerful) heart." So Hebrew, for "good," equivalent to "cheerful" (Ecc 11:9); but the parallel clause supports English Version.

Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Verse 3. Sorrow is better than laughter] The reason is immediately given; for by the sorrow of the countenance - the grief of heart that shows itself in the countenance -

The heart is made better.] In such cases, most men try themselves at the tribunal of their own consciences, and resolve on amendment of life.

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

(3) Sadness of the countenance.—Gen_40:7; Neh_3:3. “Anger” (margin). This is the usual meaning of the word, and so in Ecc_7:9. It is accordingly adopted here by the older translators, but the rendering of our version is required by the context.

A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

3. Sorrow is better than laughter] The thought is essentially the same as that of the preceding verse, but is somewhat more generalized. We are reminded of the Greek axiom, παθεῖν, μαθεῖν (“Pain is gain”), of the teaching of Æschylus.

Ζῆνα …

τὸν φρονεῖν βροτοὺς ὁδώ-

σαντα, τὸν πάθει μάθος

θέντα κυρίως ἔχειν.

“Yea, Zeus, who leadeth men in wisdom’s way

And fixeth fast the law

That pain is gain.”

Agam. 170.

There is a moral improvement rising out of sorrow which is not gained from enjoyment however blameless. The “Penseroso” is after all a character of nobler stamp than the “Allegro.”

The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Sorrow is better than laughter,.... Sorrow, expressed in the house of mourning, is better, more useful and commendable, than that foolish laughter, and those airs of levity, expressed in the house of feasting; or sorrow on account of affliction and troubles, even adversity itself, is oftentimes much more profitable, and conduces more to the good of men, than prosperity; or sorrow for sin, a godly sorrow, a sorrow after a godly sort, which works repentance unto salvation, that needeth not to be repented of, is to be preferred to all carnal mirth and jollity. It may be rendered, "anger is better than laughter" (h); which the Jews understand of the anger of God in correcting men for sin; which is much better than when he takes no notice of them, but suffers them to go on in sin, as if he was pleased with them; the Midrash gives instances of it in the generation of the flood and the Sodomites: and the Targum inclines to this sense,

"better is the anger, with which the Lord of that world is angry against the righteous in this world, than the laughter with which he derides the ungodly.''

Though it may be better, with others, to understand it of anger in them expressed against sin, in faithful though sharp rebukes for it; which, in the issue, is more beneficial than the flattery of such who encourage in it; see Pro 27:5;

for by the sadness of the countenance the heart is made better: when the sadness is not hypocritical, as in the Scribes and Pharisees, but serious and real, arising from proper reflections on things in the mind; whereby the heart is drawn off from vain, carnal, and sensual things; and is engaged in the contemplation of spiritual and heavenly ones, which is of great advantage to it: or by the severity of the countenance of a faithful friend, in correcting for faults, the heart is made better, which receives those corrections in love, and confesses its fault, and amends.

(h) "melior est ira risu", Pagninus, Mercerus; "melior est indigatio risu", Tigurine version, Junius & Tremellius.

John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Sorrow - Rather, Seriousness.

The heart is made better - i. e., is made bright and joyful (compare 2Co 6:10). The mind which bears itself equally in human concerns, whether they be pleasant or sorrowful, must always be glad, free, and at peace.

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

Come. While at birth-day feasts (Genesis xl. 20., and Matthew xiv. 6.) people give themselves up to joy, and cherish the idea of living long. (Calmet)

George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).

Sorrow; either for sin, or any outward troubles.

The sadness of the countenance; which is seated in the heart, but manifested in the countenance.

Made better; 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.

Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

3. Sorrow, simply, does not present the Hebrew as well as sober reflection, that is, the laying to heart, as just mentioned. So, laughter means reckless mirth. Also, sadness of the countenance means a thoughtful aspect, indicative of serious consideration.

Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Sorrow is better than laughter. This is a further expansion of the previous maxim, sK (kaas), as contrasted with qwOhc, is rightly rendered "sorrow," "melancholy," or, as Ginsburg contends, "thoughtful sadness." The Septuagint has qumov, the Vulgate ira; but auger is not the feeling produced by a visit to the house of mourning. Such a scene produces saddening reflection, which is in itself a moral training, and is more wholesome and elevating than thoughtless mirth. For by the sadness of the countenance the heart is made better. The feeling which shows itself by the look of sadness (comp. Gen_40:7; Neh_2:2) has a purifying effect on the heart, gives a moral tone to the character. Professor Tayler Lewis renders the clause, "For in the sad. ness of the face the heart becometh fair;" i.e. sorrow beautifies the soul, producing, as it were, comeliness, spiritual beauty, and, in the end, serener happiness. The Vulgate translates the passage thus: Melter eat ira risu; quia per tristitiam vultus corrigitur animus deliquentis, "Better is anger than laughter, because through sadness of countenance the mind of the offender is corrected." The anger is that either of God or of good men which reproves sin; the laughter is that of sinners who thus show their connivance at or approval of evil. There can be no doubt that this is not the sense of the passage. For the general sentiment concerning the moral influence of grief and suffering, we may compare the Greek sayings, Tamata maqhmata, and Ti maqwn ti paqwn; which are almost equivalent in meaning (comp. Aeschyl., "Again.," 170; Herod., 1:207). The Latins would say, "Quaenocent, docent," and we, "Pain is gain."

The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

The joy of life must thus be not riot and tumult, but a joy tempered with seriousness: "Better is sorrow than laughter: for with a sad countenance it is well with the heart. The heart of the wise is in the house of mourning, and the heart of fools in the house of mirth." Grief and sorrow, כּעס, whether for ourselves or occasioned by others, is better, viz., morally better, than extravagant merriment; the heart is with רע פּ (inf. as רע, Jer 7:6; cf. פן ר, Gen 40:7; Neh 2:2), a sorrowful countenance, better than with laughter, which only masks the feeling of disquiet peculiar to man, Pro 14:13. Elsewhere לב ייטב = "the heart is (may be) of good cheer," e.g., Rut 3:7; Jdg 19:6; here also joyful experience is meant, but well becoming man as a religious moral being. With a sad countenance it may be far better as regards the heart than with a merry countenance in boisterous company. Luther, in the main correct, after Jerome, who on his part follows Symmachus: "The heart is made better by sorrow." The well-being is here meant as the reflex of a moral: bene se habere.

Sorrow penetrates the heart, draws the thought upwards, purifies, transforms. Therefore is the heart of the wise in the house of sorrow; and, on the other hand, the heart of fools is in the house of joy, i.e., the impulse of their heart goes thither, there they feel themselves at home; a house of joy is one where there are continual feasts, or where there is at the time a revelling in joy. That Ecc 7:4 is divided not by Athnach, but by Zakef, has its reason in this, that of the words following אבל, none consists of three syllables; cf. on the contrary, Ecc 7:7, חכם. From this point forward the internal relation of the contents is broken up, according to which this series of sayings as a concluding section hangs together with that containing the observations going before in Ecc 6:1-12.

Keil & Delitzsch — Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament (1861–1891) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API. (Old Testament only.)

sadness of face

This refers to being sad. AT: "an experience that makes a person sad" (See: Idiom)

gladness of heart

Here the word "heart" refers to a person's thoughts and emotions. "Gladness" describes either 1) the state of the emotions of being happy and peaceful or 2) the ability to understand the truth. AT: "right thinking" (See: Metonymy)

The heart of the wise is in the house of mourning

Here wise people are referred to by their "hearts." This speaks of the wise person mourning as being in a house of mourning. AT: "Wise people think deeply about death" (See: Synecdoche and Metaphor)

but the heart of fools is in the house of feasting

Here foolish people are referred to by their "hearts." This speaks of foolish people thinking only about what makes them happy as being in a house of feasting. AT: "but foolish people think only about enjoying themselves" (See: Synecdoche and Metaphor)

the house of mourning ... the house of feasting

These phrases refer to what happens in these places.

translationWords

face

wise

fool

unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.

Vexation is better than laughter If one is pursued by the Divine Standard of Justice, let him not be distressed. It would have been better for the Generation of the Flood if the Holy One, blessed be He, had shown them an angry countenance because of the sins in their hands, rather than the laughter that He laughed with them, for had He shown them a slight expression of displeasure, they would have returned to do good (Ecc. Rabbah). It would have been better for Adonijah had his father caused him grief for every sin that he committed, rather than the laughter that he showed him, and for which he was ultimately slain (Ecc. Zuta).

the heart will rejoice It will turn over the heart of man to improve his ways.

Rashi on the Tanakh — English translations: “The Judaica Press complete Tanach with Rashi, translated by A. J. Rosenberg” (CC BY 4.0); “Pentateuch with Rashi's commentary by M. Rosenbaum and A.M. Silbermann, 1929-1934” (public domain); “The Metsudah Tanach series, Lakewood, N.J” (CC BY 4.0); and “The Book of Joshua, Metsudah Publications, 1997” (CC BY 4.0). Text via Sefaria.