Verse 3

Sorrow is better than laughter, for by the sadness of the face the heart is made better.

Other Translations

Referenced Verses

  • 2 Cor 7:9-9 : 9 Now I rejoice, not that you were made sorry, but that you sorrowed to repentance: for you were made sorry in a godly manner, that you might suffer damage by us in nothing. 10 For godly sorrow produces repentance leading to salvation, not to be repented of: but the sorrow of the world produces death. 11 For observe this very thing, that you sorrowed in a godly manner, what diligence it produced in you, yes, what clearing of yourselves, yes, what indignation, yes, what fear, yes, what vehement desire, yes, what zeal, yes, what vindication! In all things you have proved yourselves to be clear in this matter.
  • Heb 12:10-11 : 10 For they indeed for a few days chastened us as seemed best to them, but he for our benefit, that we may be partakers of his holiness. 11 Now no chastening seems to be joyful for the present, but painful: nevertheless, afterward it yields the peaceable fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it.
  • Rom 5:3-4 : 3 And not only that, but we also glory in tribulations, knowing that tribulation produces patience; 4 And patience, character; and character, hope:
  • Jas 4:8-9 : 8 Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded. 9 Be afflicted, and mourn, and weep. Let your laughter be turned to mourning, and your joy to gloom. 10 Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and he will lift you up.
  • 2 Cor 4:17 : 17 For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, works for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory;
  • Jas 1:2-4 : 2 My brothers, count it all joy when you fall into various trials; 3 Knowing this, that the testing of your faith produces patience. 4 But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing.
  • Ps 119:67 : 67 Before I was afflicted, I went astray, but now I keep Your word.
  • Ps 119:71 : 71 It is good for me that I have been afflicted, that I may learn Your statutes.
  • Ps 126:5-6 : 5 Those who sow in tears shall reap in joy. 6 He who goes forth weeping, bearing precious seed, shall doubtless come again with rejoicing, bringing his sheaves with him.
  • Jer 31:8-9 : 8 Behold, I will bring them from the north country, and gather them from the ends of the earth, and with them the blind and the lame, the woman with child and she who is in labor together: a great company shall return there. 9 They shall come with weeping, and with supplications I will lead them: I will cause them to walk by the rivers of waters in a straight way, in which they shall not stumble: for I am a father to Israel, and Ephraim is my firstborn.
  • Jer 31:15-20 : 15 Thus says the LORD; A voice was heard in Ramah, lamentation, and bitter weeping; Rachel weeping for her children refused to be comforted for her children, because they are no more. 16 Thus says the LORD; Restrain your voice from weeping, and your eyes from tears: for your work shall be rewarded, says the LORD; and they shall come again from the land of the enemy. 17 And there is hope in your future, says the LORD, that your children shall come again to their own border. 18 I have surely heard Ephraim bemoaning himself thus; You have chastised me, and I was chastised, as a bull not accustomed to the yoke: turn me, and I shall be turned; for you are the LORD my God. 19 Surely, after I was turned, I repented; and after I was instructed, I struck my thigh: I was ashamed, yes, even humiliated, because I bore the reproach of my youth. 20 Is Ephraim my dear son? is he a pleasant child? for since I spoke against him, I earnestly remember him still: therefore my heart yearns for him; I will surely have mercy upon him, says the LORD.
  • Jer 50:4-5 : 4 In those days and at that time, says the LORD, the children of Israel shall come, they and the children of Judah together, going and weeping: they shall go and seek the LORD their God. 5 They shall ask the way to Zion with their faces toward it, saying, Come and let us join ourselves to the LORD in an everlasting covenant that shall not be forgotten.
  • Dan 9:3-9 : 3 And I set my face toward the Lord God, to seek by prayer and petitions, with fasting, sackcloth, and ashes: 4 And I prayed to the LORD my God, and made my confession, and said, O Lord, the great and awesome God, who keeps the covenant and mercy with those who love Him and keep His commandments; 5 We have sinned and committed iniquity, and have done wickedly, and have rebelled, even by departing from Your precepts and from Your judgments: 6 Neither have we listened to Your servants the prophets, who spoke in Your name to our kings, our princes, and our fathers, and to all the people of the land. 7 O Lord, righteousness belongs to You, but to us belongs confusion of face, as it is this day; to the men of Judah, and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and to all Israel, those near and those far off, through all the countries where You have driven them, because of their trespass which they have trespassed against You. 8 O Lord, to us belongs confusion of face, to our kings, to our princes, and to our fathers, because we have sinned against You. 9 To the Lord our God belong mercies and forgiveness, though we have rebelled against Him; 10 Neither have we obeyed the voice of the LORD our God, to walk in His laws, which He set before us by His servants the prophets. 11 Yes, all Israel has transgressed Your law, even by departing, that they might not obey Your voice; therefore, the curse is poured upon us, and the oath that is written in the law of Moses the servant of God, because we have sinned against Him. 12 And He has confirmed His words, which He spoke against us and against our judges who judged us, by bringing upon us a great calamity: for under the whole heaven, such as has been done upon Jerusalem has not been done. 13 As it is written in the law of Moses, all this calamity has come upon us: yet we have not made our prayer before the LORD our God, that we might turn from our iniquities and understand Your truth. 14 Therefore the LORD has watched over the calamity, and brought it upon us: for the LORD our God is righteous in all His works which He does: for we have not obeyed His voice. 15 And now, O Lord our God, who brought Your people out of the land of Egypt with a mighty hand, and made Yourself a name, as it is this day; we have sinned, we have done wickedly. 16 O Lord, according to all Your righteousness, I plead with You, let Your anger and Your fury be turned away from Your city Jerusalem, Your holy mountain: because for our sins and for the iniquities of our fathers, Jerusalem and Your people have become a reproach to all around us. 17 Now therefore, O our God, hear the prayer of Your servant, and his supplications, and cause Your face to shine upon Your sanctuary that is desolate, for the Lord's sake. 18 O my God, incline Your ear, and hear; open Your eyes, and behold our desolations, and the city which is called by Your name: for we do not present our supplications before You for our righteousness, but for Your great mercies. 19 O Lord, hear; O Lord, forgive; O Lord, listen and act; do not delay, for Your own sake, O my God: for Your city and Your people are called by Your name.
  • Dan 10:2-3 : 2 In those days, I, Daniel, was mourning for three full weeks. 3 I ate no desirable food, neither did meat nor wine enter my mouth, neither did I anoint myself at all, till three whole weeks were completed.
  • Dan 10:19 : 19 And said, O man greatly beloved, fear not; peace be to you, be strong, yea, be strong. And when he had spoken to me, I was strengthened, and said, Let my lord speak, for you have strengthened me.
  • Zech 12:10-14 : 10 And I will pour upon the house of David, and upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the spirit of grace and supplications: and they shall look upon me whom they have pierced, and they shall mourn for him, as one mourns for his only son, and shall be in bitterness for him, as one that is in bitterness for his firstborn. 11 In that day there shall be a great mourning in Jerusalem, like the mourning of Hadadrimmon in the valley of Megiddo. 12 And the land shall mourn, every family apart; the family of the house of David apart, and their wives apart; the family of the house of Nathan apart, and their wives apart; 13 The family of the house of Levi apart, and their wives apart; the family of Shimei apart, and their wives apart; 14 All the families that remain, every family apart, and their wives apart.
  • Luke 6:21 : 21 Blessed are you that hunger now: for you shall be filled. Blessed are you that weep now: for you shall laugh.
  • Luke 6:25 : 25 Woe to you that are full! for you shall hunger. Woe to you that laugh now! for you shall mourn and weep.
  • John 16:20-22 : 20 Truly, truly, I say to you, you will weep and lament, but the world will rejoice: and you will be sorrowful, but your sorrow will be turned into joy. 21 A woman, when she is in labor, has sorrow because her hour has come: but as soon as she has delivered the child, she no longer remembers the anguish, for joy that a man has been born into the world. 22 And now you have sorrow: but I will see you again, and your heart will rejoice, and no one will take your joy from you.