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Ecclesiastes 7

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Wisdom and the Acceptance of Reality 1–10

1
Agoodname is better than precious oil; 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 glad. ​
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 the wise, than for a man to hear the song of fools.
6
For as the crackling of thorns under a pot, so is the laughter of the fool: this also is vanity.
7
Surely extortion maketh the wise man foolish; and a bribe destroyeth the understanding. ​
8
Better is the end of a thing than the beginning thereof; and the patient in spirit is better than the proud in spirit. ​
9
Be not hasty in thy spirit to be angry; for anger resteth in the bosom of fools.
10
Say not thou, What is the cause that the former days were better than these? for thou dost not inquire wisely concerning this. ​

The Benefits and Limits of Wisdom 11–14

11
Wisdom is as good as an inheritance; yea, more excellent is it for them that see the sun. ​
12
For wisdom is a defence, even as money is a defence; but the excellency of knowledge is, that wisdom preserveth the life of him that hath it. ​
13
Consider the work of God: for who can make that straight, which he hath made crooked? ​
14
In the day of prosperity be joyful, and in the day of adversity consider; yea, God hath made the one side by side with the other, to the end that man should not find out anything that shall be after him. ​

The Problem of Injustice 15–22

15
All this have I seen in my days of vanity: there is a righteous man that perisheth in his righteousness, and there is a wicked man that prolongeth his life in his evil-doing. ​
16
Be not righteous overmuch; neither make thyself overwise: why shouldest thou destroy thyself? ​
17
Be not overmuch wicked, neither be thou foolish: why shouldest thou die before thy time? ​
18
It is good that thou shouldest take hold of this; yea, also from that withdraw not thy hand: for he that feareth God shall come forth from them all. ​
19
Wisdom is a strength to the wise man more than ten rulers that are in a city. ​
20
Surely there is not a righteous man upon earth, that doeth good, and sinneth not. ​
21
Also take not heed unto all words that are spoken, lest thou hear thy servant curse thee; ​
22
for oftentimes also thine own heart knoweth that thou thyself likewise hast cursed others.

The Elusive Nature of Wisdom 23–26

23
All this have I proved in wisdom: I said, I will be wise; but it was far from me. ​
24
That which is, is far off and exceeding deep; who can find it out? ​
25
I turned about, and my heart was set to know and to search out, and to seek wisdom and the reason of things, and to know that wickedness is folly, and that foolishness is madness. ​
26
And I find more bitter than death the woman whose heart is snares and nets, and whose hands are bands: whoso pleaseth God shall escape from her; but the sinner shall be taken by her. ​

The Preacher's Conclusion 27–29

27
Behold, this have I found, saith the Preacher, laying one thing to another, to find out the account; ​
28
which my soul still seeketh, but I have not found: one man among a thousand have I found; but a woman among all those have I not found. ​
29
Behold, this only have I found: that God made man upright; but they have sought out many inventions. ​

Bible text: American Standard Version (1901) · Public domain

Study Notes for Ecclesiastes 7

Verse 1

A good name — Shem, name, and shemen, ointment, sound alike in the Hebrew. Prov 22:1 gives the first half: 'A good name is rather to be chosen than great riches'. For the second half the New Testament speaks of the believer's death: 'Blessed are the dead which die in the Lord from henceforth' (Rev 14:13), and 'to die is gain' (Phil 1:21).

Verse 2

house of mourning — The 'house of feasting' is mishteh, a drinking-feast. 'Lay it to his heart' is the charge of Deut 32:29, 'O that they were wise, that they understood this, that they would consider their latter end!', and the prayer of Ps 90:12, 'So teach us to number our days, that we may apply our hearts unto wisdom'.

Verse 3

Sorrow is better than laughter — 'Sorrow' is ka'as, vexation, rendered 'anger' in v.9. 'Sadness of the countenance' is literally 'badness of face'. The heart is 'made better' (yatav, made good). Paul separates two kinds: 'godly sorrow worketh repentance to salvation not to be repented of: but the sorrow of the world worketh death' (2 Cor 7:10).

Verse 4

the house of mirth — 'Mirth' is simchah, the word the book commends in 2:26 ('wisdom, and knowledge, and joy') and 9:7, so the fault lies in a heart that dwells there. Isa 22:13 gives its speech, 'let us eat and drink; for to morrow we shall die', and Belshazzar's feast ends 'in that night' (Dan 5:1, 30).

Verse 7

a gift destroyeth the heart — 'Oppression' is osheq, as in 5:8, and 'destroyeth' is abad, the verb of the just man who 'perisheth' in v.15. Here 'gift' is mattanah; the law's word for a bribe is shochad: 'the gift blindeth the wise, and perverteth the words of the righteous' (Ex 23:8; Deut 16:19). 'Mad' is halal, the verb of Isa 44:25, where God 'maketh diviners mad'.

Verse 8

patient in spirit — Literally 'long of spirit' (erek), set against the 'proud', literally 'high of spirit'. The 'end' (acharit) better than the beginning is seen in Job: 'the LORD blessed the latter end of Job more than his beginning' (Job 42:12; cf. James 5:11). Prov 14:29 sets the 'slow to wrath' against him that is 'hasty of spirit'.

Verse 10

the former days were better — 'Enquire' is sha'al, to ask, and 'wisely' is literally 'out of wisdom' (chokmah). Gideon asked a like question of the LORD's wonders, 'where be all his miracles which our fathers told us of' (Judg 6:13), and was sent in the strength he had: 'Go in this thy might' (Judg 6:14).

Verse 11

wisdom is good with an inheritance — 'Inheritance' is nachalah, the family's allotted land in Israel, which each was to 'keep himself to' (Num 36:7). 'Profit' is yoter, the 'better' of 6:11, whose question 'what is man the better?' is here taken up for 'them that see the sun', the living (cf. 11:7).

Verse 12

a defence — The Hebrew is tsel, 'shade' or 'shadow', the word 6:12 used of passing days and Ps 121:5 of the LORD: 'the LORD is thy shade upon thy right hand'. Wisdom and money both shelter, but wisdom 'giveth life' (chayah, keeps alive), as Prov 3:18 says of her: 'a tree of life to them that lay hold upon her'.

Verse 13

who can make that straight — The same pair stands in 1:15, 'That which is crooked cannot be made straight'. 'Crooked' is avat, bent, and 'straight' is tiqqen, to set in order. The call 'Consider the work of God' answers the failing of Isa 5:12: 'they regard not the work of the LORD'.

Verse 14

the one over against the other — 'Prosperity' and 'adversity' are tov and ra, good and evil, both set by God, as Job answers: 'shall we receive good at the hand of God, and shall we not receive evil?' (Job 2:10). 'Consider' is ra'ah, the verb of v.13. 'Find nothing after him' is the limit of 3:22 and 6:12.

Verse 15

a just man that perisheth — Abad, the verb of v.7, stands in Isa 57:1, 'The righteous perisheth, and no man layeth it to heart'. The case is the one the psalmist stumbled at: 'I was envious at the foolish, when I saw the prosperity of the wicked' (Ps 73:3). The book states it again at 8:14 and answers at 8:12: 'it shall be well with them that fear God'.

Verse 16

righteous over much — Tsaddiq, just, is the word of vv.15 and 20. The counsel is commonly read against a pretended righteousness, since 'there is not a just man upon earth, that doeth good, and sinneth not' (v.20). 'Destroy thyself' is shamam, to be left desolate. Paul gives the measure: 'not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think' (Rom 12:3).

Verse 17

before thy time — 'Be not over much wicked' allows no measure of wickedness: 'the years of the wicked shall be shortened' (Prov 10:27). 'Foolish' is sakal, to act foolishly, and 'time' is et, the word of 3:2, 'a time to die'. The warning is as Job 15:32 puts it for the wicked: 'It shall be accomplished before his time'.

Verse 18

he that feareth God — Yare, the fear of the LORD, is the root of the book's closing counsel, 'Fear God, and keep his commandments' (12:13). 'Come forth' is yatsa, to go out, as Mal 4:2 says to those who 'fear my name': 'ye shall go forth, and grow up as calves of the stall'. 'Them all' covers both failures, righteousness assumed (v.16) and wickedness chosen (v.17).

Verse 19

ten mighty men — 'Mighty' is shallit, a ruler or governor, from the verb shalat that gives 'power' in 5:19. Wisdom is set above ten such rulers in a city, as in Prov 21:22: 'A wise man scaleth the city of the mighty'. The poor wise man of 9:15, who 'delivered the city', is the instance.

Verse 20

not a just man — The tsaddiq of vv.15–16 is here said not to exist on earth in the man who 'doeth good, and sinneth not' (chata, to miss the mark). Solomon says it in his prayer at the temple: 'there is no man that sinneth not' (1 Kgs 8:46). John has it likewise: 'If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves' (1 John 1:8).

Verse 21

take no heed — Literally 'give not thy heart' (natan lev), the idiom of v.2, 'the living will lay it to his heart'. A servant's curse (qalal) is among the words not to be laid to heart. David bore Shimei's curse so: 'let him curse, because the LORD hath said unto him, Curse David' (2 Sam 16:10). Verse 22 gives the reason.

Verse 23

it was far from me — 'Proved' is nasah, to test, the verb used of the queen of Sheba coming 'to prove him with hard questions' (1 Kgs 10:1). 'Far' (rachoq) returns in v.24, 'That which is far off'. God had given Solomon 'a wise and an understanding heart' (1 Kgs 3:12), and the wisdom he tested still had its limit.

Verse 24

exceeding deep — Literally 'deep, deep' (amoq), doubled to express the extreme. 'Find out' is matsa, the verb that runs through vv.24–29 and that 3:11 uses of God's work: 'no man can find out the work that God maketh'. Paul answers with the depth in Rom 11:33: 'how unsearchable are his judgments, and his ways past finding out!'

Verse 25

the reason of things — Cheshbon, a reckoning or account, is the 'account' of v.27, and 'inventions' in v.29 (chishbon) comes from the same root, chashab, to reckon. 'Search' (tur) is to explore, as the men sent 'search the land of Canaan' (Num 13:2). The search covers wisdom and also 'the wickedness of folly'.

Verse 26

the woman, whose heart is snares and nets — The woman is commonly read as the seductress, the 'strange woman' of Proverbs, whose 'end is bitter as wormwood' (Prov 5:4) and whose house 'inclineth unto death' (Prov 2:18). The same book commends 'the wife whom thou lovest' (9:9). The verse sets two men against her: he that 'pleaseth God' escapes, 'the sinner' is taken.

Verse 27

saith the preacher — Qoheleth is the title of 1:1, and the phrase 'saith the preacher' stands in 1:2, here, and 12:8. 'Counting one by one' is the method, one finding added to the next (achat le-achat), to reach the 'account' (cheshbon) first sought in v.25.

Verse 28

one man among a thousand — The report is of his own search, 'which yet my soul seeketh, but I find not' (matsa, the verb of vv.24–29), and v.29 gives the result. 'One among a thousand' is Elihu's phrase for the interpreter who shows a man his uprightness (Job 33:23). The same verb says in Prov 18:22, 'Whoso findeth a wife findeth a good thing'.

Verse 29

hath made man upright — Yashar, straight, is the word of Job 1:1, 'perfect and upright'. 'This only' (levad) marks the one finding that stands out of the whole search. 'Inventions' (chishbonot) are devices, from the root of 'the reason of things' in v.25. Paul traces the same turn: 'became vain in their imaginations' (Rom 1:21).