Ecclesiastes 7:3
Better is grief than laughter,—for, by the marring of the face, amended is the heart.
The Emphasised Bible by J. B. Rotherham
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 myself was going astray, but, now, thy word, have I kept.
Psalms 126:5They who are sowing with tears, with shouting, shall reap:
Jeremiah 31:8Behold me bringing them in out of the land of the North, And I will gather them out of the remote parts of the earth, Among them, the blind and the lame The woman with child and she that giveth birth, together,—A great convocation, shall return hither:
Jeremiah 50:4In those days, and at that time, Declareth Yahweh, Shall the sons of Israel come in, They and the sons of Judah together: Weeping as they travel, so shall they journey on, And Yahweh their God, shall they seek;
Daniel 10:2In those days, I, Daniel, was mourning three sevens of days:
Zechariah 12:10But I will pour out upon the house of David and upon the inhabitant of Jerusalem, the spirit of favour, and of supplications, and they will look unto me, whom they have pierced,—and will wail over him, as one waileth over an only son, and will make bitter outcry over him, as one maketh bitter outcry over a 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 →