Ecclesiastes 7:4 (LSB)

Passage

The heart of the wise is in the house of mourning, While the heart of fools is in the house of gladness.

Nearby Context

Ecclesiastes 7:2 Better to go to a house of mourning Than to go to a house of feasting Because that is the end of all mankind, And the living puts this in his heart.

Ecclesiastes 7:3 Better is vexation than laughter, For when a face is sad a heart may be merry.

Ecclesiastes 7:4 The heart of the wise is in the house of mourning, While the heart of fools is in the house of gladness.

Ecclesiastes 7:5 Better to listen to the rebuke of a wise man Than for one to listen to the song of fools.

Ecclesiastes 7:6 For as the crackling sound of thorn bushes under a pot, So is the laughter of the fool; And this too is vanity.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "heart", "wise", "house", "mourning", "fools", and "gladness". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "heart" and "wise", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 3's "Better is vexation than laughter For when..." into verse 5's "Better to listen to the rebuke of...", so "heart" and "wise" 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 "heart" and "wise" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.