emptiness or vanity · noun, common masculine singular absolute
Strong's Exhaustive Concordance (James Strong, 1890/1894), public domain; digitized by Open Scriptures (CC BY-SA). KJV word tagging: eBible.org (public domain). Original-language text, parsing and brief lexicon: STEPBible.org data from Tyndale House, Cambridge (CC BY 4.0).
Cross-references
Psalms 58:9 Before your pots can feel the thorns, he shall take them away as with a whirlwind, both living, and in his wrath.
Psalms 118:12 They compassed me about like bees; they are quenched as the fire of thorns: for in the name of the LORD I will destroy them.
Ecclesiastes 2:2 I said of laughter, It is mad: and of mirth, What doeth it?
Luke 6:25 Woe unto you that are full! for ye shall hunger. Woe unto you that laugh now! for ye shall mourn and weep.
Jude 1:12-13 These are spots in your feasts of charity, when they feast with you, feeding themselves without fear: clouds they are without water, carried…
Proverbs 29:9 If a wise man contendeth with a foolish man, whether he rage or laugh, there is no rest.
Isaiah 65:13-15 Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD, Behold, my servants shall eat, but ye shall be hungry: behold, my servants shall drink, but ye shall be t…
Amos 8:10 And I will turn your feasts into mourning, and all your songs into lamentation; and I will bring up sackcloth upon all loins, and baldness u…
Cross-references from OpenBible.info (CC BY), in the lineage of the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (public domain).
Commentary
Matthew Henry on Ecclesiastes 7:1-6
In these verses Solomon lays down some great truths which seem paradoxes to the unthinking part, that is, the far greatest part, of mankind.
I. That the honour of virtue is really more valuable and desirable than all the wealth and pleasure in this world (Ecc 7:1): A good name is before good ointment (so it may be read); it is preferable to it, and will be rather chosen by all that are wise. Good ointment is here put for all the profits of the earth (among the products of which oil was reckoned one of the most valuable), for all the delights of sense (for ointment and perfume which rejoice the heart, and it is called the oil of gladness), nay, and for the highest titles of honour with which…
crackling--answers to the loud merriment of fools. It is the very fire consuming them which produces the seeming merry noise (Joe 2:5). Their light soon goes out in the black darkness. There is a paronomasia in the Hebrew, Sirim ("thorns"), Sir ("pot"). The wicked are often compared to "thorns" (Sa2 23:6; Nah 1:10). Dried cow-dung was the common fuel in Palestine; its slowness in burning makes the quickness of a fire of thorns the more graphic, as an image of the sudden end of fools (Psa 118:12).
John Gill on Ecclesiastes 7:6
For as the crackling of thorns under a pot, so is the laughter of the fool,.... As thorns are weak, useless, and unprofitable; yea, hurtful and pernicious, and only fit for burning; so are foolish and wicked men, 2 Samuel 23:6; and as the noise and sound of the one under a pot is very short, they make a blaze for a while, and is soon over; so though the laughter of a fool is loud and noisy, it makes no melody, no more than the noise of thorns; and is but for a moment, and will be soon changed for weeping and howling, which will last for ever; see Job 20:5;
this also is vanity; the carnal mirth of wicked men.
Keil & Delitzsch on Ecclesiastes 7:5-6
A fourth proverb of that which is better (מן טוב) presents, like the third, the fools and the wise over against each other: "Better to hear the reproof of a wise man, than that one should hear the song of fools. For like the crackling of Nesseln (nettles) under the Kessel (kettle), so the laughter of the fool: also this is vain." As at Pro 13:1; Pro 17:10, גּערה is the earnest and severe words of the wise, which impressively reprove, emphatically warn, and salutarily alarm. שׁיר in itself means only song, to the exclusion, however, of the plaintive song; the song of fools is, if not immoral, yet morally and spiritually hollow, senseless, and unbridled madness. Instead of משּׁמע, the words מא…
The Church Fathers
Thorns that burn under a pot make loud crackling noises. This is like the laughing of the foolish. It makes noise and is crackling, but not because it educates the soul.… As the thorns produce noise when they as plants are burned under a pot, in the same way the laughter of the foolish comes out of a bad soul that is burning.… Thorns are earthly worries, shameful desires and uncurbed joys.
"It is better to hear the rebuke of the wise, than for a man to hear the song of fools. For as the crackling of thorns under the pot, so is the laughter of the fool: this too is vanity. "For it is better to be rebuked by a wise man, than to be deceived by flattering praise. Similar to this is the passage which says, "better are the wounds of a friend, than the free kisses of an enemy" [Prov. 27, 6.]. Just as the sound of sharp thorns under the pot gives out a harsh sound, so the words of a flattering teacher are not of any use, or the worries of the world, which are interpreted as 'thorns', or the sound of one who encourages his listeners, or of one who prepares them for the fire which is to come. Let us look at what Symmachus has to say about the passage that we have as "since just as the sound…fool." Understanding the meaning which we have already explained above, he says, 'for a man is bound in chains by the voice of the ignorant". This means that one listener is tied up to the word of such teachers, while the chains of his sins restrain another.
The Church Fathers: public-domain translations (Ante-Nicene and Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers), verse-indexed by SermonIndex (CC BY 4.0).
Dictionary and topics
Fuel — Almost every kind of combustible matter was used for fuel, such as the withered stalks of herbs (Matt. 6:30), thorns (Ps. 58:9; Eccl. 7:6), animal excrements (Ezek. 4:12-15; 15:4, 6; 21:32). Wood or…
Happiness · .Is vain — .Is vain
Happiness Of The Wicked, The · Is vain — Is vain
Hypocrisy · General scriptures concerning — General scriptures concerning
Joy · Of the wicked: Is short-lived — Of the wicked: Is short-lived
Selfishness · General scriptures concerning — General scriptures concerning
Thorn · .For fuel — .For fuel
Dictionary: Easton's (1897) and Smith's (1863), public domain. Topics: Nave's Topical Bible (1896) and Torrey's Topical Textbook (1897), public domain. Both as parsed by NEUU (CC BY 4.0).
Being praised by a fool and enjoying a fool’s laughter are short-lived and worthless. Being criticized by a wise person can lead to real gain (Prov 17:10).
Rashi on Ecclesiastes 7:6
For like the crackling of thorns. Thorn wood, espines in O.F.
Under a pot. Under a copper pot turned over a fire of thorns, and they rattle into it.18The crackling of thorns in the fire lasts only a brief moment and then is gone. So, too, the laughter of the fool has no useful purpose or lasting value. Or, the verse conveys the thought that the wise grieve because they are fearful that they are lacking in their service to God, whereas fools are generally satisfied and happy because they feel they have totally fulfilled their obligation in their service to God. Rabbi Yehoshua the son of Leivi said, that all [other] woods when they are kindled, their sound does not travel [far], but when thor…
