King James Version (KJV) Authorized Version 1611
Read Full Chapter (Ecclesiastes 7) Ecclesiastes 7:3-5 KJV
"Sorrow is better than laughter: for by the sadness of the countenance the heart is made better. The heart of the wise is in the house of mourning; but the heart of fools is in the house of mirth. It is better to hear the rebuke of the wise, than for a man to hear the song of fools."
Ecclesiastes 7:3-5 in Context (Verses 1–8 KJV)
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 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 oppression maketh a wise man mad; and a gift destroyeth the heart.
8
Better is the end of a thing than the beginning thereof: and the patient in spirit is better than the proud in spirit.