Ecclesiastes 7:3 (ASV)

Passage

Sorrow is better than laughter; for by the sadness of the countenance the heart is made glad.

Nearby Context

Ecclesiastes 7:1 A [good] name is better than precious oil; and the day of death, than the day of one`s birth.

Ecclesiastes 7:2 It is better to go to the house of mourning than to go to the house of feasting: for that is the end of all men; and the living will lay it to his heart.

Ecclesiastes 7:3 Sorrow is better than laughter; for by the sadness of the countenance the heart is made glad.

Ecclesiastes 7:4 The heart of the wise is in the house of mourning; but the heart of fools is in the house of mirth.

Ecclesiastes 7:5 It is better to hear the rebuke of the wise, than for a man to hear the song of fools.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "sorrow", "better", "than", "laughter", "sadness", "countenance", "heart", and "glad". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "sorrow" and "better", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 2's "It is better to go to the..." into verse 4's "The heart of the wise is in...", so "sorrow" and "better" belong inside that flow. In Ecclesiastes context, the local focus is covenant, worship, and faithfulness.

A plain takeaway is to answer the verse's own emphasis on "sorrow" and "better" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.