1 A good name is better than fine perfume, and one’s day of death is better than his day of birth. 2 It is better to enter a house of mourning than a house of feasting, since death is the end of every man, and the living should take this to heart. 3 Sorrow is better than laughter, for a sad countenance is good for the heart.
Ecclesiastes 7:1–3
Semantically similar passages
Proverbs 14:12–14
12 There is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way of death. 13 Even in laughter the heart may ache, and joy may end in sorrow. 14 The backslider in heart receives the fill of his own ways, but a good man is rewarded for his ways.
Proverbs 15:14–16
14 A discerning heart seeks knowledge, but the mouth of a fool feeds on folly. 15 All the days of the oppressed are bad, but a cheerful heart has a continual feast. 16 Better a little with the fear of the LORD than great treasure with turmoil.
Ecclesiastes 9:4–6
4 There is hope, however, for anyone who is among the living; for even a live dog is better than a dead lion. 5 For the living know that they will die, but the dead know nothing. They have no further reward, because the memory of them is forgotten. 6 Their love, thei…
Sirach 22:11–13
11 Weep for the dead, for he lacks light. Weep for a fool, for he lacks understanding. Weep more sweetly for the dead, because he has found rest, but the life of the fool is worse than death. (WEB) 12 Mourning for the dead lasts seven days, but for a fool and an ungodly m… (WEB)
Ecclesiastes 4:1–3
1 Again I looked, and I considered all the oppression taking place under the sun. I saw the tears of the oppressed, and they had no comforter; the power lay in the hands of their oppressors, and there was no comforter. 2 So I admired the dead, who had already died…
Sirach 41:12–14
12 Have regard for your name, for it continues with you longer than a thousand great treasures of gold. (WEB) 13 A good life has its number of days, but a good name continues forever. (WEB) 14 My children, follow instruction in peace. But wisdom that is hidden and a treasure that i… (WEB)
Ecclesiastes 7:13–15
13 Consider the work of God: Who can straighten what He has bent? 14 In the day of prosperity, be joyful, but in the day of adversity, consider this: God has made one of these along with the other, so that a man cannot discover anything that will come after him. 15 In m…
Ecclesiastes 11:7–9
7 Light is sweet, and it pleases the eyes to see the sun. 8 So if a man lives many years, let him rejoice in them all. But let him remember the days of darkness, for they will be many. Everything to come is futile. 9 Rejoice, O young man, while you are young, and let…
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