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1–23. Moral instructions of Ecclesiastes. 24–29. The depravity of women. Eccl.7:1. A good name is better than an expensive suit, and the day of death is better than the day of birth. Eccl.7:2. It is better to go to a house of mourning for the dead than to go to a house of feasting; for this is the end of every man, and the living will apply it to his heart. Eccl.7:3. Lamentation is better than laughter; because with a sad face the heart becomes better. Eccl.7:4. The heart of the wise is in the house of mourning, and the heart of fools is in the house of joy. Eccl.7:5. It is better to listen to the reproof of a wise man than to listen to the songs of fools; Eccl.7:6. because the laughter of fools is the same as the crackling of thorn brush under a cauldron. And this is vanity! Until the 7th chapter, the attitude towards life that Ecclesiastes taught, the “best” that he found in life, was indicated by him briefly and generally. Due to this, his instructions could give rise to a too one-sided understanding. It might seem (as it happened more than once) that Ecclesiastes invites us to an Epicurean enjoyment of life, to extract from it all kinds of pleasures, especially sensual ones. His “eat, drink, be merry” could be understood as a call to unbridled fun at life’s feast, as an invitation to take as much pleasure as possible from life, without being embarrassed by the thought of an unknown future. Chapter seven removes any possibility of such misinterpretation and establishes the true meaning of the instructions of Ecclesiastes. In inspiring “to have fun,” he did not mean that frivolous, vulgar fun among worldly amusements and entertainment, which leaves behind a feeling of emptiness and moral dissatisfaction, but a bright, festive mood, which in everything that happens sees the manifestation of the Divine Mind and, therefore, knows how to extract moments of pure, serene joy even from the most suffering, whether they be someone else’s or your own. Inner experience taught Ecclesiastes that the contemplation of human suffering and even death evokes in the soul that special fullness of moral feeling, which creates a more lasting happiness than all vulgar entertainment, as short-lived as the crackling of thorn brush (v. 6). A person then learns to understand the true meaning of life, to come to terms with evil, not to be afraid of death, to remain serenely joyful under all circumstances of life. In view of this, Ecclesiastes advises to prefer the day of death to the day of birth, the house of mourning to the house of feasting, lamentation to laughter, the reproof of the wise to the songs of fools. “When the face is sad, the heart becomes better,” more precisely from the Hebrew: it becomes more cheerful, happier (cf. Eccl. 11.9; Judges 19:9; Ruth 3.7). Eccl.7:7. By oppressing others, the wise become foolish, and gifts spoil the heart. “And gifts spoil the heart.” Of course, mainly gifts to officials. Eccl.7:8. The end of a thing is better than the beginning; patient is better than arrogant. Eccl.7:9. Do not be hasty in your spirit to anger, because anger nests in the hearts of fools. Eccl.7:10. Do not say: “Why were the former days better than these?” for you are not asking this out of wisdom. Ecclesiastes warns against that gloomy and impatient discontent that tries to find the bad in everything. Eccl.7:11. Wisdom with inheritance is good, and especially for those who see the sun: “Wisdom is good with an inheritance, and especially for those who see the sun.” The particle מך here, as in Eccl 2.16, means “exactly like”, “like”. Therefore, it can be translated: wisdom is good, like an inheritance, and is more advantageous (inheritance) for those who see the sun, that is, for people. Eccl.7:12. because under its shadow is the same as under the shadow of silver; but the superiority of knowledge is that wisdom gives life to those who possess it. The advantage of wisdom is that it gives life - not only truly moral life, but also physical life, since it turns a person away from passions that destroy the body. Eccl.7:13. Look at the working of God: for who can make straight what He has made crooked? Eccl.7:14. In days of prosperity, take advantage of the good, and in days of misfortune, reflect: God did both so that man could not say anything against Him. "I could not speak against Him." ויכצא (as in Eccl. 3.22, 6.12) means: after him. It should be translated: I couldn’t say after myself. For this purpose, God sends prosperity and misfortune to man, so that he does not know the future and feels constant dependence on God. Eccl.7:15. I have seen enough of everything in my vain days: the righteous perish in his righteousness; the wicked live long in his wickedness. Eccl.7:16. Don't be too strict, and don't pretend to be too wise; why would you ruin yourself? "Don't be too strict" literally: don't be too righteous. In these words, some saw the expression of the Stoic principle of living in accordance with nature and the Stoic concept of virtue as the art of μεσος ἔχειν - keeping to the middle. In fact, continuing to develop his previous thought about the rational enjoyment of life, Ecclesiastes here warns only against excessive pedantry and narrow rigorism, which, due to perverse moral concepts, strives to expel from life all innocent joys, completely permitted pleasures. Eccl.7:17. Do not indulge in sin, and do not be mad: why should you die at the wrong time? However, in the pursuit of happiness, a person should not cross the boundaries of what is permitted, since every sin accelerates not only moral, but also physical death. Eccl.7:18. It’s good if you stick to one and don’t take your hands off the other; because whoever fears God will escape all this. A wise person will be able to find the middle and avoid the extremes of soulless rigorism and moral laxity, using life wisely and remaining righteous. Some interpreters find here hints of Pharisaic rigorism and the licentiousness of the Sadducees. Eccl.7:19. Wisdom makes a wise man stronger than the ten rulers who are in the city. Eccl.7:20. There is no righteous man on earth who does good and does not sin; Eccl.7:21. therefore, do not pay attention to every word that is spoken, lest you hear your servant when he curses you; Eccl.7:22. for your heart knows many cases when you yourself have slandered others. Eccl.7:23. I have experienced all this through wisdom; I said: “I will be wise”; but wisdom is far from me. Solomon expressed the same thought in his prayer - precisely in the words: “for there is no man who does not sin” (1 Kings 8.46). This idea is easily connected with the subsequent verses, which instill condescension towards people; but its connection with the previous one is not clear. Meanwhile, the 20th verse begins with the particle יכ (ki), which indicates that this verse contains the rationale for the previous thought. The train of thought is probably this: it is necessary to take care of acquiring wisdom, which protects a person from excessive severity and from moral laxity, since there is no person on earth who would do and not sin. Eccl.7:24. Far is what was, and deep - deep: who will comprehend it? Eccl.7:25. I have turned my heart to know, to explore and seek wisdom and understanding, and to know the wickedness of stupidity, ignorance and madness, - It is more correct to translate the beginning of the verse as follows: “far is what is, and deep, deep,” that is, everything that exists is far and deep from human knowledge, “the works that God does” (Eccl. 3.11). Wed. Job 28.12–22. Eccl.7:26. and I found that a woman is worse than death, because she is a snare, and her heart is a snare, her hands are fetters; the good before God will be saved from it, and the sinner will be caught by it. Delving deeper into the cause of sin, misfortune, madness, Ecclesiastes finds that it is partly in the woman. A woman is a net and a snare for a weak person. Eccl.7:27. This is what I found, said Ecclesiastes, testing one thing after another. Eccl.7:28. What else has my soul sought and I have not found? “I found one man out of a thousand, but I didn’t find a woman among all of them.” From here Ecclesiastes concludes that a woman is generally morally more depraved and depraved than a man. The condemnation of women in Ecclesiastes is not unconditional. Elsewhere (Ecclesiastes 9.9), he considers life with a wife one of the blessings available to man. Eccl.7:29. Only this I found, that God created man upright, and people indulged in many thoughts. Ecclesiastes warns of a possible wrong conclusion from his previous reasoning. God, who created man upright, is not the culprit of the moral depravity of people in general and women in particular. God created man upright, that is, morally healthy, capable of following the right path and not sinning. “And the people indulged in many thoughts”, literally: inventions, wisdom (Compare 2 Chronicles 26.15: “and he made in Jerusalem skillfully invented machines.”). You might be interested in: