In Context

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

2 Better 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.

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

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

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

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

Ecclesiastes 7:4 in Other Translations