Ecclesiastes Chapter 7 verse 3 Holy Bible

ASV Ecclesiastes 7:3

Sorrow is better than laughter; for by the sadness of the countenance the heart is made glad.
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BBE Ecclesiastes 7:3

Sorrow is better than joy; when the face is sad the mind gets better.
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DARBY Ecclesiastes 7:3

Vexation is better than laughter; for by the sadness of the countenance the heart is made better.
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KJV Ecclesiastes 7:3

Sorrow is better than laughter: for by the sadness of the countenance the heart is made better.
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WBT Ecclesiastes 7:3


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WEB Ecclesiastes 7:3

Sorrow is better than laughter; for by the sadness of the face the heart is made good.
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YLT Ecclesiastes 7:3

Better `is' sorrow than laughter, For by the sadness of the face the heart becometh better.
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Pulpit Commentary

Pulpit CommentaryVerse 3. - Sorrow is better than laughter. This is a further expansion of the previous maxim, כַּעַס (kaas), as contrasted with שְׂהוק, is rightly rendered "sorrow," "melancholy," or, as Ginsburg contends, "thoughtful sadness." The Septuagint has θυμός, the Vulgate ira; but auger is not the feeling produced by a visit to the house of mourning. Such a scene produces saddening reflection, which is in itself a moral training, and is more wholesome and elevating than thoughtless mirth. For by the sadness of the countenance the heart is made better. The feeling which shows itself by the look of sadness (comp. Genesis 40:7; Nehemiah 2:2) has a purifying effect on the heart, gives a moral tone to the character. Professor Tayler Lewis renders the clause, "For in the sad. ness of the face the heart becometh fair;" i.e. sorrow beautifies the soul, producing, as it were, comeliness, spiritual beauty, and, in the end, serener happiness. The Vulgate translates the passage thus: Melter eat ira risu; quia per tristitiam vultus corrigitur animus deliquentis, "Better is anger than laughter, because through sadness of countenance the mind of the offender is corrected." The anger is that either of God or of good men which reproves sin; the laughter is that of sinners who thus show their connivance at or approval of evil. There can be no doubt that this is not the sense of the passage. For the general sentiment concerning the moral influence of grief and suffering, we may compare the Greek sayings, Τὰ παθήματα μαθήματα, and Τί μαθών τί παθών; which are almost equivalent in meaning (comp. AEschyl., 'Again.,' 170; Herod., 1:207). The Latins would say, "Quaenocent, docent," and we, "Pain is gain."

Ellicott's Commentary

Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers(3) Sadness of the countenance.--Genesis 40:7; Nehemiah 3:3. "Anger" (margin). This is the usual meaning of the word, and so in Ecclesiastes 7:9. It is accordingly adopted here by the older translators, but the rendering of our version is required by the context.