Ecclesiastes 7:4

The Message

Sages invest themselves in hurt and grieving. Fools waste their lives in fun and games.

Cross References

2 Samuel 13:28

Absalom prepared a banquet fit for a king. Then he instructed his servants, “Look sharp, now. When Amnon is well into the sauce and feeling no pain, and I give the order ‘Strike Amnon,’ kill him. And don’t be afraid—I’m the one giving the command. Courage! You can do it!”

1 Kings 20:16

At noon they set out after Ben-Hadad who, with his allies, the thirty-two sheiks, was busy at serious drinking in the field shelters. The commandos of the regional chiefs made up the vanguard. A report was brought to Ben-Hadad: “Men are on their way from Samaria.”

Ecclesiastes 2:1

I said to myself, “Let’s go for it—experiment with pleasure, have a good time!” But there was nothing to it, nothing but smoke. What do I think of the fun-filled life? Insane! Inane! My verdict on the pursuit of happiness? Who needs it? With the help of a bottle of wine and all the wisdom I could muster, I tried my level best to penetrate the absurdity of life. I wanted to get a handle on anything useful we mortals might do during the years we spend on this earth.

Ecclesiastes 7:3

Crying is better than laughing. It blotches the face but it scours the heart.

Ecclesiastes 7:5

You’ll get more from the rebuke of a sage Than from the song and dance of fools.

Jeremiah 51:57

“I’ll get them drunk, the whole lot of them— princes, sages, governors, soldiers. Dead drunk, they’ll sleep—and sleep and sleep . . . and never wake up.” The King’s Decree. His name? God-of-the-Angel-Armies!

Daniel 5:30

That same night the Babylonian king Belshazzar was murdered. Darius the Mede was sixty-two years old when he succeeded him as king.

1 Samuel 25:36

When Abigail got home she found Nabal presiding over a huge banquet. He was in high spirits—and very, very drunk. So she didn’t tell him anything of what she’d done until morning. But in the morning, after Nabal had sobered up, she told him the whole story. Right then and there he had a heart attack and fell into a coma. About ten days later God finished him off and he died.

1 Samuel 30:16

He led David to them. They were scattered all over the place, eating and drinking, gorging themselves on all the loot they had plundered from Philistia and Judah.