Ecclesiastes 7:4
New International Version
The heart of the wise is in the house of mourning, but the heart of fools is in the house of pleasure.

New Living Translation
A wise person thinks a lot about death, while a fool thinks only about having a good time.

English Standard Version
The heart of the wise is in the house of mourning, but the heart of fools is in the house of mirth.

Berean Standard Bible
The heart of the wise is in the house of mourning, but the heart of fools is in the house of pleasure.

King James Bible
The heart of the wise is in the house of mourning; but the heart of fools is in the house of mirth.

New King James Version
The heart of the wise is in the house of mourning, But the heart of fools is in the house of mirth.

New American Standard Bible
The mind of the wise is in the house of mourning, While the mind of fools is in the house of pleasure.

NASB 1995
The mind of the wise is in the house of mourning, While the mind of fools is in the house of pleasure.

NASB 1977
The mind of the wise is in the house of mourning, While the mind of fools is in the house of pleasure.

Legacy Standard Bible
The heart of the wise is in the house of mourning, While the heart of fools is in the house of gladness.

Amplified Bible
The heart of the wise [learns when it] is in the house of mourning, But the heart of fools is [senseless] in the house of pleasure.

Christian Standard Bible
The heart of the wise is in a house of mourning, but the heart of fools is in a house of pleasure.

Holman Christian Standard Bible
The heart of the wise is in a house of mourning, but the heart of fools is in a house of pleasure.

American Standard Version
The heart of the wise is in the house of mourning; but the heart of fools is in the house of mirth.

Aramaic Bible in Plain English
The heart of the wise is in the house of mourning, and the heart of fools in the house of joy

Brenton Septuagint Translation
The heart of the wise is in the house of mourning; but the heart of fools is in the house of mirth.

Contemporary English Version
A sensible person mourns, but fools always laugh.

Douay-Rheims Bible
The heart of the wise is where there is mourning, and the heart of fools where there is mirth.

English Revised Version
The heart of the wise is in the house of mourning; but the heart of fools is in the house of mirth.

GOD'S WORD® Translation
The minds of wise people think about funerals, but the minds of fools think about banquets.

Good News Translation
Someone who is always thinking about happiness is a fool. A wise person thinks about death.

International Standard Version
For the wise person thinks carefully when in mourning, but fools focus their thoughts on pleasure.

JPS Tanakh 1917
The heart of the wise is in the house of mourning; But the heart of fools is in the house of mirth.

Literal Standard Version
The heart of the wise [is] in a house of mourning, | And the heart of fools in a house of mirth.

Majority Standard Bible
The heart of the wise is in the house of mourning, but the heart of fools is in the house of pleasure.

New American Bible
The heart of the wise is in the house of mourning, but the heart of fools is in the house of merriment.

NET Bible
The heart of the wise is in the house of mourning, but the heart of fools is in the house of merrymaking.

New Revised Standard Version
The heart of the wise is in the house of mourning; but the heart of fools is in the house of mirth.

New Heart English Bible
The heart of the wise is in the house of mourning; but the heart of fools is in the house of mirth.

Webster's Bible Translation
The heart of the wise is in the house of mourning; but the heart of fools is in the house of mirth.

World English Bible
The heart of the wise is in the house of mourning; but the heart of fools is in the house of mirth.

Young's Literal Translation
The heart of the wise is in a house of mourning, And the heart of fools in a house of mirth.

Additional Translations ...
Audio Bible



Context
The Value of Wisdom
3Sorrow is better than laughter, for a sad countenance is good for the heart. 4The heart of the wise is in the house of mourning, but the heart of fools is in the house of pleasure. 5It is better to heed a wise man’s rebuke than to listen to the song of fools.…

Cross References
Ecclesiastes 2:1
I said to myself, "Come now, I will test you with pleasure; enjoy what is good!" But it proved to be futile.

Ecclesiastes 7:3
Sorrow is better than laughter, for a sad countenance is good for the heart.

Ecclesiastes 7:5
It is better to heed a wise man's rebuke than to listen to the song of fools.


Treasury of Scripture

The heart of the wise is in the house of mourning; but the heart of fools is in the house of mirth.

heart

Nehemiah 2:2,5
Wherefore the king said unto me, Why is thy countenance sad, seeing thou art not sick? this is nothing else but sorrow of heart. Then I was very sore afraid, …

Isaiah 53:3,4
He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief: and we hid as it were our faces from him; he was despised, and we esteemed him not…

Matthew 8:14-16
And when Jesus was come into Peter's house, he saw his wife's mother laid, and sick of a fever…

the heart

1 Samuel 25:36
And Abigail came to Nabal; and, behold, he held a feast in his house, like the feast of a king; and Nabal's heart was merry within him, for he was very drunken: wherefore she told him nothing, less or more, until the morning light.

1 Samuel 30:16
And when he had brought him down, behold, they were spread abroad upon all the earth, eating and drinking, and dancing, because of all the great spoil that they had taken out of the land of the Philistines, and out of the land of Judah.

2 Samuel 13:28
Now Absalom had commanded his servants, saying, Mark ye now when Amnon's heart is merry with wine, and when I say unto you, Smite Amnon; then kill him, fear not: have not I commanded you? be courageous, and be valiant.

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Ecclesiastes 7
1. remedies against vanity are, a good name
2. mortification
7. patience
11. wisdom
23. The difficulty of wisdom














Verse 4. - The heart of the wise is in the house of mourning. This is the natural conclusion from what was said in vers. 2, 3. The man who recognizes the serious side of life, and knows where to learn lessons of high moral meaning, will be found conversant with scenes of sorrow and suffering, and reflecting upon them. But the heart of fools is in the house of mirth. The fool, who thinks of nothing but present enjoyment, and how to make life pass pleasantly, turns away from mournful scenes, and goes only there where he may drown care and be thoughtless and merry.

Parallel Commentaries ...


Hebrew
The heart
לֵ֤ב (lêḇ)
Noun - masculine singular construct
Strong's 3820: The heart, the feelings, the will, the intellect, centre

of the wise
חֲכָמִים֙ (ḥă·ḵā·mîm)
Adjective - masculine plural
Strong's 2450: Wise

[is] in the house
בְּבֵ֣ית (bə·ḇêṯ)
Preposition-b | Noun - masculine singular construct
Strong's 1004: A house

of mourning,
אֵ֔בֶל (’ê·ḇel)
Noun - masculine singular
Strong's 60: Lamentation

but the heart
וְלֵ֥ב (wə·lêḇ)
Conjunctive waw | Noun - masculine singular construct
Strong's 3820: The heart, the feelings, the will, the intellect, centre

of fools
כְּסִילִ֖ים (kə·sî·lîm)
Noun - masculine plural
Strong's 3684: Stupid fellow, dullard, fool

is in the house
בְּבֵ֥ית (bə·ḇêṯ)
Preposition-b | Noun - masculine singular construct
Strong's 1004: A house

of pleasure.
שִׂמְחָֽה׃ (śim·ḥāh)
Noun - feminine singular
Strong's 8057: Blithesomeness, glee


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