Ecclesiastes 7:3

Young's Literal Translation (1862/1898)

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

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Referenced Verses

  • 2 Cor 7:9-9 : 9 I now do rejoice, not that ye were made sorry, but that ye were made sorry to reformation, for ye were made sorry toward God, that in nothing ye might receive damage from us; 10 for the sorrow toward God reformation to salvation not to be repented of doth work, and the sorrow of the world doth work death, 11 for, lo, this same thing -- your being made sorry toward God -- how much diligence it doth work in you! but defence, but displeasure, but fear, but longing desire, but zeal, but revenge; in every thing ye did approve yourselves to be pure in the matter.
  • Heb 12:10-11 : 10 for they, indeed, for a few days, according to what seemed good to them, were chastening, but He for profit, to be partakers of His separation; 11 and all chastening for the present, indeed, doth not seem to be of joy, but of sorrow, yet afterward the peaceable fruit of righteousness to those exercised through it -- it doth yield.
  • Rom 5:3-4 : 3 And not only `so', but we also boast in the tribulations, knowing that the tribulation doth work endurance; 4 and the endurance, experience; and the experience, hope;
  • Jas 4:8-9 : 8 draw nigh to God, and He will draw nigh to you; cleanse hands, ye sinners! and purify hearts, ye two-souled! 9 be exceeding afflicted, and mourn, and weep, let your laughter to mourning be turned, and the joy to heaviness; 10 be made low before the Lord, and He shall exalt you.
  • 2 Cor 4:17 : 17 for the momentary light matter of our tribulation, more and more exceedingly an age-during weight of glory doth work out for us --
  • Jas 1:2-4 : 2 All joy count `it', my brethren, when ye may fall into temptations manifold; 3 knowing that the proof of your faith doth work endurance, 4 and let the endurance have a perfect work, that ye may be perfect and entire -- in nothing lacking;
  • Ps 119:67 : 67 Before I am afflicted, I -- I am erring, And now Thy saying I have kept.
  • Ps 119:71 : 71 Good for me that I have been afflicted, That I might learn Thy statutes.
  • Ps 126:5-6 : 5 Those sowing in tears, with singing do reap, 6 Whoso goeth on and weepeth, Bearing the basket of seed, Surely cometh in with singing, bearing his sheaves!
  • Jer 31:8-9 : 8 Lo, I am bringing them in from the north country, And have gathered them from the sides of the earth, Among them `are' blind and lame, Conceiving and travailing one -- together, A great assembly -- they turn back hither. 9 With weeping they come in, And with supplications I bring them, I cause them to go unto streams of waters, In a right way -- they stumble not in it, For I have been to Israel for a father, And Ephraim -- My first-born `is' he.
  • Jer 31:15-20 : 15 Thus said Jehovah, A voice in Ramah is heard, wailing, weeping most bitter, Rachel is weeping for her sons, She hath refused to be comforted for her sons, because they are not. 16 Thus said Jehovah: Withhold thy voice from weeping, and thine eyes from tears, For there is a reward for thy work, An affirmation of Jehovah, And they have turned back from the land of the enemy. 17 And there is hope for thy latter end, An affirmation of Jehovah, And the sons have turned back `to' their border. 18 I have surely heard Ephraim bemoaning himself, `Thou hast chastised me, And I am chastised, as a heifer not taught, Turn me back, and I turn back, For thou `art' Jehovah my God. 19 For after my turning back I repented, And after my being instructed I struck on the thigh, I have been ashamed, I have also blushed, For I have borne the reproach of my youth. 20 A precious son is Ephraim to Me? A child of delights? For since My speaking against him, I do thoroughly remember him still, Therefore have My bowels been moved for him, I do greatly love him, An affirmation of Jehovah.
  • Jer 50:4-5 : 4 In those days, and at that time, An affirmation of Jehovah, Come in do sons of Israel, They and sons of Judah together, Going on and weeping they go, And Jehovah their God they seek. 5 `To' Zion they ask the way, Thitherward `are' their faces: Come in, and we are joined unto Jehovah, A covenant age-during -- not forgotten.
  • Dan 9:3-9 : 3 and I set my face unto the Lord God, to seek `by' prayer and supplications, with fasting, and sackcloth, and ashes. 4 And I pray to Jehovah my God, and confess, and say: `I beseech Thee, O Lord God, the great and the fearful, keeping the covenant and the kindness to those loving Him, and to those keeping His commands; 5 we have sinned, and done perversely, and done wickedly, and rebelled, to turn aside from Thy commands, and from Thy judgments: 6 and we have not hearkened unto Thy servants, the prophets, who have spoken in Thy name unto our kings, our heads, and our fathers, and to all the people of the land. 7 `To Thee, O Lord, `is' the righteousness, and to us the shame of face, as `at' this day, to the men of Judah, and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and to all Israel, who are near, and who are far off, in all the lands whither Thou hast driven them, in their trespass that they have trespassed against Thee. 8 `O Lord, to us `is' the shame of face, to our kings, to our heads, and to our fathers, in that we have sinned against Thee. 9 `To the Lord our God `are' the mercies and the forgivenesses, for we have rebelled against Him, 10 and have not hearkened to the voice of Jehovah our God, to walk in His laws, that He hath set before us by the hand of His servants the prophets; 11 and all Israel have transgressed Thy law, to turn aside so as not to hearken to Thy voice; and poured on us is the execration, and the oath, that is written in the law of Moses, servant of God, because we have sinned against Him. 12 `And He confirmeth His words that He hath spoken against us, and against our judges who have judged us, to bring in upon us great evil, in that it hath not been done under the whole heavens as it hath been done in Jerusalem, 13 as it is written in the law of Moses, all this evil hath come upon us, and we have not appeased the face of Jehovah our God to turn back from our iniquities, and to act wisely in Thy truth. 14 And Jehovah doth watch for the evil, and bringeth it upon us, for righteous `is' Jehovah our God concerning all His works that He hath done, and we have not hearkened to His voice. 15 And now, O Lord our God, who hast brought forth Thy people from the land of Egypt by a strong hand, and dost make for Thee a name as at this day, we have sinned, we have done wickedly. 16 `O Lord, according to all Thy righteous acts, let turn back, I pray Thee, Thine anger and Thy fury from Thy city Jerusalem, Thy holy mount, for by our sins, and by the iniquities of our fathers, Jerusalem and Thy people `are' for a reproach to all our neighbours; 17 and now, hearken, O our God, unto the prayer of Thy servant, and unto his supplication, and cause Thy face to shine on Thy sanctuary that `is' desolate, for the Lord's sake. 18 `Incline, O my God, Thine ear, and hear, open Thine eyes and see our desolations, and the city on which Thy name is called; for not for our righteous acts are we causing our supplications to fall before Thee, but for Thy mercies that `are' many. 19 O lord, hear, O Lord, forgive; O Lord, attend and do; do not delay, for Thine own sake, O my God, for Thy name is called on Thy city, and on Thy people.'
  • Dan 10:2-3 : 2 `In those days, I, Daniel, have been mourning three weeks of days; 3 desirable bread I have not eaten, and flesh and wine hath not come in unto my mouth, and I have not anointed myself at all, till the completion of three weeks of days.
  • Dan 10:19 : 19 and he saith: Do not fear, O man greatly desired, peace to thee, be strong, yea, be strong; and when he speaketh with me, I have strengthened myself, and I say, Let my lord speak, for thou hast strengthened me.
  • Zech 12:10-14 : 10 And I have poured on the house of David, And on the inhabitant of Jerusalem, A spirit of grace and supplications, And they have looked unto Me whom they pierced, And they have mourned over it, Like a mourning over the only one, And they have been in bitterness for it, Like a bitterness over the first-born. 11 In that day, great is the mourning of Jerusalem, As the mourning of Hadadrimmon in the valley of Megiddon, 12 And mourned hath the land -- every family apart, The family of the house of David apart, And their women apart; The family of the house of Nathan apart, And their women apart; 13 The family of the house of Levi apart, And their women apart; The family of Shimei apart, And their women apart, 14 All the families that are left, Every family apart, and their women apart!
  • Luke 6:21 : 21 `Happy those hungering now -- because ye shall be filled. `Happy those weeping now -- because ye shall laugh.
  • Luke 6:25 : 25 `Wo to you who have been filled -- because ye shall hunger. `Wo to you who are laughing now -- because ye shall mourn and weep.
  • John 16:20-22 : 20 verily, verily, I say to you, that ye shall weep and lament, and the world will rejoice; and ye shall be sorrowful, but your sorrow joy will become. 21 `The woman, when she may bear, hath sorrow, because her hour did come, and when she may bear the child, no more doth she remember the anguish, because of the joy that a man was born to the world. 22 `And ye, therefore, now, indeed, have sorrow; and again I will see you, and your heart shall rejoice, and your joy no one doth take from you,

Similar Verses (AI)

These verses are found using AI-powered semantic similarity based on meaning and context. Results may occasionally include unexpected connections.

  • Eccl 7:1-2
    2 verses
    85%

    1Better `is' a name than good perfume, And the day of death than the day of birth.

    2Better to go unto a house of mourning, Than to go unto a house of banqueting, For that is the end of all men, And the living layeth `it' unto his heart.

  • 13A joyful heart maketh glad the face, And by grief of heart is the spirit smitten.

  • 13Even in laughter is the heart pained, And the latter end of joy `is' affliction.

  • Eccl 7:4-10
    7 verses
    84%

    4The heart of the wise `is' in a house of mourning, And the heart of fools in a house of mirth.

    5Better to hear a rebuke of a wise man, Than `for' a man to hear a song of fools,

    6For as the noise of thorns under the pot, So `is' the laughter of a fool, even this `is' vanity.

    7Surely oppression maketh the wise mad, And a gift destroyeth the heart.

    8Better `is' the latter end of a thing than its beginning, Better `is' the patient of spirit, than the haughty of spirit.

    9Be not hasty in thy spirit to be angry, For anger in the bosom of fools resteth.

    10Say not thou, `What was it, That the former days were better than these?' For thou hast not asked wisely of this.

  • 22A rejoicing heart doth good to the body, And a smitten spirit drieth the bone.

  • 9be exceeding afflicted, and mourn, and weep, let your laughter to mourning be turned, and the joy to heaviness;

  • 25Sorrow in the heart of a man boweth down, And a good word maketh him glad.

  • 75%

    15All the days of the afflicted `are' evil, And gladness of heart `is' a perpetual banquet.

    16Better `is' a little with the fear of Jehovah, Than much treasure, and tumult with it.

  • 4A time to weep, And a time to laugh. A time to mourn, And a time to skip.

  • 14In a day of prosperity be in gladness, And in a day of evil consider. Also this over-against that hath God made, To the intent that man doth not find anything after him.

  • Eccl 2:1-2
    2 verses
    73%

    1I said in my heart, `Pray, come, I try thee with mirth, and look thou on gladness;' and lo, even it `is' vanity.

    2Of laughter I said, `Foolish!' and of mirth, `What `is' this it is doing?'

  • Eccl 1:17-18
    2 verses
    73%

    17And I give my heart to know wisdom, and to know madness and folly: I have known that even this `is' vexation of spirit;

    18for, in abundance of wisdom `is' abundance of sadness, and he who addeth knowledge addeth pain.'

  • Eccl 11:7-10
    4 verses
    73%

    7Sweet also `is' the light, And good for the eyes to see the sun.

    8But, if man liveth many years, In all of them let him rejoice, And remember the days of darkness, For they are many! all that is coming `is' vanity.

    9Rejoice, O young man, in thy childhood, And let thy heart gladden thee in days of thy youth, And walk in the ways of thy heart, And in the sight of thine eyes, And know thou that for all these, Doth God bring thee into judgment.

    10And turn aside anger from thy heart, And cause evil to pass from thy flesh, For the childhood and the age `are' vanity!

  • 2 Cor 7:9-10
    2 verses
    72%

    9I now do rejoice, not that ye were made sorry, but that ye were made sorry to reformation, for ye were made sorry toward God, that in nothing ye might receive damage from us;

    10for the sorrow toward God reformation to salvation not to be repented of doth work, and the sorrow of the world doth work death,

  • 15And I have praised mirth because there is no good to man under the sun except to eat and to drink, and to rejoice, and it remaineth with him of his labour the days of his life that God hath given to him under the sun.

  • 12I have known that there is no good for them except to rejoice and to do good during their life,

  • 3And better than both of them `is' he who hath not yet been, in that he hath not seen the evil work that hath been done under the sun.

  • 15Ceased hath the joy of our heart, Turned to mourning hath been our dancing.

  • 20Why giveth He to the miserable light, and life to the bitter soul?

  • 20Whoso is taking away a garment in a cold day, `Is as' vinegar on nitre, And a singer of songs on a sad heart.

  • 9Better `is' the sight of the eyes than the going of the soul. This also `is' vanity and vexation of spirit.

  • 30The light of the eyes rejoiceth the heart, A good report maketh fat the bone.

  • 22And I have seen that there is nothing better than that man rejoice in his works, for it `is' his portion; for who doth bring him in to look on that which is after him?

  • 18My refreshing for me `is' sorrow, For me my heart `is' sick.

  • 13O the happiness of a man `who' hath found wisdom, And of a man `who' bringeth forth understanding.

  • 4`Happy the mourning -- because they shall be comforted.

  • 7Mourned hath the new wine, languished the vine, Sighed have all the joyful of heart.

  • 3This `is' an evil among all that hath been done under the sun, that one event `is' to all, and also the heart of the sons of man is full of evil, and madness `is' in their heart during their life, and after it -- unto the dead.

  • 23For all his days are sorrows, and his travail sadness; even at night his heart hath not lain down; this also `is' vanity.

  • 7Go, eat with joy thy bread, and drink with a glad heart thy wine, for already hath God been pleased with thy works.

  • 10The heart knoweth its own bitterness, And with its joy a stranger doth not intermeddle.

  • 17Also all his days in darkness he consumeth, and sadness, and wrath, and sickness abound.

  • 25I have turned round, also my heart, to know and to search, and to seek out wisdom, and reason, and to know the wrong of folly, and of foolishness the madness.

  • 3The folly of man perverteth his way, And against Jehovah is his heart wroth.

  • 22Who are glad -- unto joy, They rejoice when they find a grave.