Sorrow is better than laughter: for by the sadness of the countenance the heart is made better.
KJV
Parallel translations
4 additional translations▾
Parallel translations
4 additional translationsASV
Sorrow is better than laughter; for by the sadness of the countenance the heart is made glad.
WEB
Sorrow is better than laughter, for a sad countenance is good for the heart.
YLT
Better is sorrow than laughter, For by the sadness of the face the heart becometh better.
DBT
Vexation is better than laughter; for by the sadness of the countenance the heart is made better.
About this book
Old Testament▾
About this book
Old TestamentEcclesiastes — Qohelet the Preacher — ''vanity of vanities, all is vanity.'' The book's relentless examination of life under the sun, resolving not in despair but in ''fear God, and keep his commandments: for this is the whole duty of man.''
- Author
- Traditional: Solomon (''son of David, king in Jerusalem''). Critical: a later Qohelet figure writing in Solomonic persona. §7.9 surfaces; Pastor Marc's drawer carries the position.
- Date
- Solomonic reading: c. 940 BC. Critical reading: Persian or early Hellenistic period (5th–3rd century BC).