Ecclesiastes 7:7
For oppression makes a wise man mad, and destroys his noble heart.
Brenton Septuagint
In The King James Version
Surely oppression maketh a wise man mad; and a gift destroyeth the heart.
In Context
6As the sound of thorns under a caldron, so is the laughter of fools: this is also vanity.
Cross References
Deuteronomy 16:19they shall not wrest judgment, nor favour persons, nor receive a gift; for gifts blind the eyes of the wise, and pervert the words of the righteous.
Deuteronomy 28:65Moreover among those nations he will not give thee quiet, neither by any means shall the sole of thy foot have rest; and the Lord shall give thee there another and a misgiving heart, and failing eyes, and a wasting soul.
1 Samuel 12:3Behold, here am I, answer against me before the Lord and before his anointed: whose calf have I taken? or whose ass have I taken? or whom of you have I oppressed? or whom have I been violent with? or from whose hand have I taken a + 12:3 Gr. propitiation.bribe, even to a sandal? bear witness against me, and I will make restitution to you.
Proverbs 17:8Instruction is to them that use it a gracious reward: and whithersoever it may turn, it shall prosper.
Ecclesiastes 4:1So I returned, and saw all the oppressions that were done under the sun: and behold the tear of the oppressed, and they had no comforter; and on the side of them that oppressed them was power; but they had no comforter:
Isaiah 33:15He that walks in righteousness, speaking rightly, hating transgression and iniquity, and shaking his hands from gifts, stopping his ears that he should not hear the judgment of blood, shutting his eyes that he should not see injustice;
Matthew Henry on Ecclesiastes 7:2-7
The Value of a Good Name. 1 A good name is better than precious ointment; and the day of death than the day of one's birth. 2 It is better to go to the house of mourning, than to go to the house of feasting: for that is the end of all men; and the living will lay it to his heart. 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… Read the whole commentary →