Ecclesiastes 7:14 (WEB)

Passage

In the day of prosperity be joyful, and in the day of adversity consider; yes, God has made the one side by side with the other, to the end that man should not find out anything after him.

Nearby Context

Ecclesiastes 7:12 For wisdom is a defense, even as money is a defense; but the excellency of knowledge is that wisdom preserves the life of him who has it.

Ecclesiastes 7:13 Consider the work of God, for who can make that straight, which he has made crooked?

Ecclesiastes 7:14 In the day of prosperity be joyful, and in the day of adversity consider; yes, God has made the one side by side with the other, to the end that man should not find out anything after him.

Ecclesiastes 7:15 All this I have seen in my days of vanity: there is a righteous man who perishes in his righteousness, and there is a wicked man who lives long in his evildoing.

Ecclesiastes 7:16 Don’t be overly righteous, neither make yourself overly wise. Why should you destroy yourself?

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "prosperity", "joyful", "adversity", "consider", "other", and "should". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "prosperity" and "joyful", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 13's "Consider the work of God for who..." into verse 15's "All this I have seen in my...", so "prosperity" and "joyful" 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 "prosperity" and "joyful" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.