Bible Strands
Ecclesiastes 7:2
It is better to enter a house of mourning than a house of feasting, since death is the end of every man, and the living should take this to heart.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — The Teacher addresses a general audience within a structured wisdom discourse, positioned between verses 1 and 3 of Ecclesiastes 7. The moment occurs during a reflective examination of life’s contrasts and the pragmatic value of sorrow.
The words — טוֹב (Tov) denotes what is good or preferable, while אֵבֶל ('Evel) literally means mourning or lamentation. The text juxtaposes these terms to establish a comparative value judgment between two types of gatherings.
The thread — The text explicitly states that death ends every person and the living should take this to heart. This focus on mortality connects to Psalms 90:12, which urges counting days to gain wisdom, and Hebrews 9:27, which states man is appointed to die once before facing judgment. Deuteronomy 32:29 similarly calls for understanding one’s appointed fate.
Why it lands — The text demands that the living consciously internalize the certainty of death rather than pursue temporary pleasure. It requires readers to let the reality of mortality shape their present decisions and priorities.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Hebrew words
King James Version
It is better to go to the house of mourning, than to go to the house of feasting: for that is the end of all men; and the living will lay it to his heart.
Cross-references
- Psalms 90:12 So teach us to number our days, that we may present a heart of wisdom.
- Deuteronomy 32:29 If only they were wise, they would understand it; they would comprehend their fate.
- Hebrews 9:27 Just as man is appointed to die once, and after that to face judgment,
- Deuteronomy 32:46 he said to them, “Take to heart all the words I have solemnly declared to you this day, so that you may command your children to carefully follow all the words of this law.
- Haggai 1:5 Now this is what the LORD of Hosts says: “Consider carefully your ways.
- Philippians 3:19 Their end is destruction, their god is their belly, and their glory is in their shame. Their minds are set on earthly things.
- 1 Peter 4:3 For you have spent enough time in the past carrying out the same desires as the Gentiles: living in debauchery, lust, drunkenness, orgies, carousing, and detestable idolatry.
- Genesis 48:1 Some time later Joseph was told, “Your father is ill.” So he set out with his two sons, Manasseh and Ephraim.
- Genesis 49:2 Come together and listen, O sons of Jacob; listen to your father Israel.
- Genesis 50:15 When Joseph’s brothers saw that their father was dead, they said, “What if Joseph bears a grudge? Then he will surely repay us for all the evil that we did to him.”