Ecclesiastes 7:3
Sorrow is better than laughter, for a sad countenance is good for the heart.
Majority Standard Bible
In The King James Version
Sorrow is better than laughter: for by the sadness of the countenance the heart is made better.
In Context
Cross References
Psalms 119:67Before I was afflicted, I went astray; but now I keep Your word.
Psalms 126:5Those who sow in tears will reap with shouts of joy.
Jeremiah 31:8Behold, I will bring them from the land of the north and gather them from the farthest parts of the earth, including the blind and the lame, expectant mothers and women in labor. They will return as a great assembly!
Jeremiah 50:4“In those days and at that time, declares the LORD, the children of Israel and the children of Judah will come together, weeping as they come, and will seek the LORD their God.
Daniel 10:2In those days I, Daniel, was mourning for three full weeks.
Zechariah 12:10Then I will pour out on the house of David and on the people of Jerusalem a spirit of grace and prayer, and they will look on Me, the One they have pierced. They will mourn for Him as one mourns for an only child, and grieve bitterly for Him as one grieves for a firstborn son.
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 →