Ecclesiastes 7:5 (YLT)

Passage

Better to hear a rebuke of a wise man, Than <FI>for<Fi> a man to hear a song of fools,

Nearby Context

Ecclesiastes 7:3 Better <FI>is<Fi> sorrow than laughter, For by the sadness of the face the heart becometh better.

Ecclesiastes 7:4 The heart of the wise <FI>is<Fi> in a house of mourning, And the heart of fools in a house of mirth.

Ecclesiastes 7:5 Better to hear a rebuke of a wise man, Than <FI>for<Fi> a man to hear a song of fools,

Ecclesiastes 7:6 For as the noise of thorns under the pot, So <FI>is<Fi> the laughter of a fool, even this <FI>is<Fi> vanity.

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

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "better", "hear", "rebuke", "wise", "than", "song", and "fools". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "better" and "hear", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 4's "The heart of the wise FI is..." into verse 6's "For as the noise of thorns under...", so "better" and "hear" 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 "better" and "hear" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.