Ecclesiastes 7:7 (DBY)

Passage

Surely oppression maketh a wise man mad, and a gift destroyeth the heart.

Nearby Context

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

Ecclesiastes 7:6 For as the crackling of thorns under a pot, so is the laughter of the fool. This also is vanity.

Ecclesiastes 7:7 Surely oppression maketh a wise man mad, and a gift destroyeth the heart.

Ecclesiastes 7:8 Better is the end of a thing than its beginning; better is a patient spirit than a proud spirit.

Ecclesiastes 7:9 Be not hasty in thy spirit to be vexed; for vexation resteth in the bosom of fools.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "surely", "oppression", "maketh", "wise", "gift", "destroyeth", and "heart". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "surely" and "oppression", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 6's "For as the crackling of thorns under..." into verse 8's "Better is the end of a thing...", so "surely" and "oppression" 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 "surely" and "oppression" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.