Ecclesiastes 7:7 — Bible Verse (KJV)

“Surely oppression maketh a wise man mad; and a gift destroyeth the heart.”

Ecclesiastes 7:7 — King James Version (KJV), 1611

Ecclesiastes 7:7 in 6 Bible Translations

Read Ecclesiastes 7:7 in the King James Version (KJV) and 5 other free, public-domain translations side by side.

Ecclesiastes 7:7 WEB — World English Bible (2000)

“Surely extortion makes the wise man foolish; and a bribe destroys the understanding.”

Ecclesiastes 7:7 — World English Bible

Ecclesiastes 7:7 ASV — American Standard Version (1901)

“Surely extortion maketh the wise man foolish; and a bribe destroyeth the understanding.”

Ecclesiastes 7:7 — American Standard Version

Ecclesiastes 7:7 YLT — Young's Literal Translation (1862)

“Surely oppression maketh the wise mad, And a gift destroyeth the heart.”

Ecclesiastes 7:7 — Young's Literal Translation

Ecclesiastes 7:7 DBY — Darby Translation (1890)

“Surely oppression maketh a wise man mad, and a gift destroyeth the heart. ”

Ecclesiastes 7:7 — Darby Translation

Ecclesiastes 7:7 GEN — Geneva Bible (1599)

“Better it is to heare ye rebuke of a wise man, then that a man should heare the song of fooles.”

Ecclesiastes 7:7 — Geneva Bible

Ecclesiastes 7:7 in Context — Ecclesiastes 7

5 It is better to hear the rebuke of the wise, than for a man to hear the song of fools.

6 For as the crackling of thorns under a pot, so is the laughter of the fool: this also is vanity.

7 Surely oppression maketh a wise man mad; and a gift destroyeth the heart.

8 Better is the end of a thing than the beginning thereof: and the patient in spirit is better than the proud in spirit.

9 Be not hasty in thy spirit to be angry: for anger resteth in the bosom of fools.

Read the full chapter: Ecclesiastes 7 — The Struggle with Sin — O Wretched Man That I Am →

What Does Ecclesiastes 7:7 Mean?

Ecclesiastes 7:7 is a verse from the Book of Ecclesiastes, part of the Old Testament. It appears in Ecclesiastes chapter 7. Use The Living Sword's word-by-word study mode to explore every word in the original Hebrew and Aramaic.

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