1A good name is better than oil of great price, and the day of death than the day of birth. 2It is better to go to the house of weeping, than to go to the house of feasting; because that is the end of every man, and the living will take it to their hearts. 3Sorrow is better than joy; when the face is sad the mind gets better. 4The hearts of the wise are in the house of weeping; but the hearts of the foolish are in the house of joy. 5It is better to take note of the protest of the wise, than for a man to give ear to the song of the foolish. 6Like the cracking of thorns under a pot, so is the laugh of a foolish man; and this again is to no purpose. 7The wise are troubled by the ways of the cruel, and the giving of money is the destruction of the heart. 8The end of a thing is better than its start, and a gentle spirit is better than pride. 9Be not quick to let your spirit be angry; because wrath is in the heart of the foolish. 10Say not, Why were the days which have gone by better than these? Such a question comes not from wisdom. 11Wisdom together with a heritage is good, and a profit to those who see the sun. 12Wisdom keeps a man from danger even as money does; but the value of knowledge is that wisdom gives life to its owner. 13Give thought to the work of God. Who will make straight what he has made bent? 14In the day of wealth have joy, but in the day of evil take thought: God has put the one against the other, so that man may not be certain what will be after him. 15These two have I seen in my life which is to no purpose: a good man coming to his end in his righteousness, and an evil man whose days are long in his evil-doing. 16Be not given overmuch to righteousness and be not over-wise. Why let destruction come on you? 17Be not evil overmuch, and be not foolish. Why come to your end before your time? 18It is good to take this in your hand and not to keep your hand from that; he who has the fear of God will be free of the two. 19Wisdom makes a wise man stronger than ten rulers in a town. 20There is no man on earth of such righteousness that he does good and is free from sin all his days. 21Do not give ear to all the words which men say, for fear of hearing the curses of your servant. 22Your heart has knowledge how frequently others have been cursed by you. 23All this I have put to the test by wisdom; I said, I will be wise, but it was far from me. 24Far off is true existence, and very deep; who may have knowledge of it? 25I gave my mind to knowledge and to searching for wisdom and the reason of things, and to the discovery that sin is foolish, and that to be foolish is to be without one's senses. 26And I saw a thing more bitter than death, even the woman whose heart is full of tricks and nets, and whose hands are as bands. He with whom God is pleased will get free from her, but the sinner will be taken by her. 27Look! this I have seen, said the Preacher, taking one thing after another to get the true account, 28For which my soul is still searching, but I have it not; one man among a thousand have I seen; but a woman among all these I have not seen. 29This only have I seen, that God made men upright, but they have been searching out all sorts of inventions.
Matthew Henry's Commentary
The benefit of a good name; of death above life; of sorrow above vain mirth. (1-6) Concerning oppression, anger, and discontent. (7-10) Advantages of wisdom. (11-22) Experience of the evil of sin. (23-29) 1-6 Reputation for piety and honesty is more desirable than all the wealth and pleasure in this world. It will do more good to go to a funeral than to a feast. We may lawfully go to both, as there is occasion; our Saviour both feasted at the wedding of his friend in Cana, and wept at the grave of his friend in Bethany. But, considering how apt we are to be vain and indulge the flesh, it is best to go to the house of mourning, to learn the end of man as to this world. Seriousness is better than mirth and jollity. That is best for us which is best for our souls, though it be unpleasing to sense. It is better to have our corruptions mortified by the rebuke of the wise, than to have them gratified by the song of fools. The laughter of a fool is soon gone, the end of his mirth is heaviness. 7-10 The event of our trials and difficulties is often better than at first we thought. Surely it is better to be patient in spirit, than to be proud and hasty. Be not soon angry, nor quick in resenting an affront. Be not long angry; though anger may come into the bosom of a wise man, it passes through it as a way-faring man; it dwells only in the bosom of fools. It is folly to cry out upon the badness of our times, when we have more reason to cry out for the badness of our own hearts; and even in these times we enjoy many mercies. It is folly to cry up the goodness of former times; as if former ages had not the like things to complain of that we have: this arises from discontent, and aptness to quarrel with God himself. 11-22 Wisdom is as good as an inheritance, yea better. It shelters from the storms and scorching heat of trouble. Wealth will not lengthen out the natural life; but true wisdom will give spiritual life, and strengthen men for services under their sufferings. Let us look upon the disposal of our condition as the work of God, and at last all will appear to have been for the best. In acts of righteousness, be not carried into heats or passions, no, not by a zeal for God. Be not conceited of thine own abilities; nor find fault with every thing, nor busy thyself in other men's matters. Many who will not be wrought upon by the fear of God, and the dread of hell, will avoid sins which ruin their health and estate, and expose to public justice. But those that truly fear God, have but one end to serve, therefore act steadily. If we say we have not sinned, we deceive ourselves. Every true believer is ready to say, God be merciful to me a sinner. Forget not at the same time, that personal righteousness, walking in newness of life, is the only real evidence of an interest by faith in the righteousness of the Redeemer. Wisdom teaches us not to be quick in resenting affronts. Be not desirous to know what people say; if they speak well of thee, it will feed thy pride, if ill, it will stir up thy passion. See that thou approve thyself to God and thine own conscience, and then heed not what men say of thee; it is easier to pass by twenty affronts than to avenge one. When any harm is done to us, examine whether we have not done as bad to others. 23-29 Solomon, in his search into the nature and reason of things, had been miserably deluded. But he here speaks with godly sorrow. He alone who constantly aims to please God, can expect to escape; the careless sinner probably will fall to rise no more. He now discovered more than ever the evil of the great sin of which he had been guilty, the loving many strange women, 1Ki 11:1|. A woman thoroughly upright and godly, he had not found. How was he likely to find such a one among those he had collected? If any of them had been well disposed, their situation would tend to render them all nearly of the same character. He here warns others against the sins into which he had been betrayed. Many a godly man can with thankfulness acknowledge that he has found a prudent, virtuous woman in the wife of his bosom; but those men who have gone in Solomon's track, cannot expect to find one. He traces up all the streams of actual transgression to the fountain. It is clear that man is corrupted and revolted, and not as he was made. It is lamentable that man, whom God made upright, has found out so many ways to render himself wicked and miserable. Let us bless Him for Jesus Christ, and seek his grace, that we may be numbered with his chosen people.