Ecclesiastes 7:2 (DRB)

Passage

A good name is better than precious ointments: and the day of death than the day of one's birth.

Nearby Context

Ecclesiastes 7:1 What needeth a man to seek things that are above him, whereas he knoweth not what is profitable for him in his life, in all the days of his pilgrimage, and the time that passeth like a shadow? Or who can tell him what shall be after him under the sun?

Ecclesiastes 7:2 A good name is better than precious ointments: and the day of death than the day of one's birth.

Ecclesiastes 7:3 It is better to go to the house of mourning, than to the house of feasting: for in that we are put in mind of the end of all, and the living thinketh what is to come.

Ecclesiastes 7:4 Anger is better than laughter: because by the sadness of the countenance the mind of the offender is corrected.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "good", "name", "better", "than", "precious", "ointments", and "death". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "good" and "name", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 1's "What needeth a man to seek things..." into verse 3's "It is better to go to the...", so "good" and "name" 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 "good" and "name" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.