Ecclesiastes 7:3
Ka'as (sorrow) is better than laughter; 1 for sadness of the countenance is good for the lev. 1
Orthodox Jewish 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; 1 but now have I been shomer over Thy word. 1
Psalms 126:5They that sow in dimah (tears) 1 shall reap in rinnah (joyful song). 1
Jeremiah 31:8They shall come with weeping, 1 and with techinnunim will I lead them back; 1 I will cause them to walk by the nachalei mayim (streams of water) 1 in a derech yashar (straight road), 1 wherein they shall not stumble; 1 for I am an Av to Yisroel, 1 and Ephrayim is My bechor. 1
Jeremiah 50:4In those yamim, and in that time, saith Hashem, the Bnei Yisroel shall go, they and the Bnei Yehudah together, in tears weeping; they shall go, and seek Hashem Eloheihem.
Daniel 10:2In those days I Daniel was mourning a full shloshah shavu'im (three weeks).
Zechariah 12:10And I will pour upon the Bais Dovid, and upon the inhabitants of Yerushalayim, the Ruach (Spirit) of Chen (grace) and of Tachanunim (supplications for favor); and they shall look upon Me whom they have pierced, + 12:10 dakar, “pierce through” cf. Isa 53:5 ; Targum HaShivim Ps 22:17 and they shall mourn for Him (Moshiach) as one mourneth for his yachid (only son), and shall grieve in bitterness for him, as one that is in bitterness for his bechor (firstborn).
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 →