Ecclesiastes 7:3
A good name is better then a good oyntment, and the day of death, then the day that one is borne.
Geneva Bible 1599
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 nowe I keepe thy woorde.
Psalms 126:5They that sowe in teares, shall reape in ioy.
Jeremiah 31:8Beholde, I will bring them from the North countrey, and gather them from the coastes of the world, with the blinde and the lame among them, with the woman with childe, and her that is deliuered also: a great companie shall returne hither.
Jeremiah 50:4In those daies, and at that time, sayeth the Lord, the children of Israel shall come, they, and the children of Iudah together, going, and weeping shall they goe, and seeke the Lord their God.
Daniel 10:2At the same time I Daniel was in heauines for three weekes of dayes.
Zechariah 12:10And I will powre vpon the house of Dauid, and vpon the inhabitants of Ierusalem the Spirite of grace and of compassion, and they shall looke vpon me, whom they haue pearced, and they shall lament for him, as one mourneth for his onely sonne, and be sorie for him as one is sorie for his first borne.
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 →