Ecclesiastes 7:7
“¶ Surely oppression maketh a wise man mad: and a gift destroyeth the heart.”
1611 King James Version (KJV)
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Ecclesiastes 7:7 Context
5It is better to heare the rebuke of the wise, then for a man to heare the song of fooles. 6For as the crackling of thornes vnder a pot, so is the laughter of the foole: this also is vanitie. 7¶ Surely oppression maketh a wise man mad: and a gift destroyeth the heart. 8Better is the ende of a thing then the beginning thereof: and the patient in spirit is better then the proude in spirit. 9Be not hastie in thy spirit to bee angry: for anger resteth in the bosome of fooles.
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Other Translations for Ecclesiastes 7:7
Surely oppression maketh a wise man mad; and a gift destroyeth the heart.
- King James Version
For oppression makes a wise man mad, And a bribe corrupts the heart.
- New American Standard Version (1995)
Surely extortion maketh the wise man foolish; and a bribe destroyeth the understanding.
- American Standard Version (1901)
The wise are troubled by the ways of the cruel, and the giving of money is the destruction of the heart.
- Basic English Bible
Surely oppression maketh a wise man mad, and a gift destroyeth the heart.
- Darby Bible
Surely oppression maketh a wise man mad; and a gift destroyeth the heart.
- Webster's Bible
Surely extortion makes the wise man foolish; and a bribe destroys the understanding.
- World English Bible
Surely oppression maketh the wise mad, And a gift destroyeth the heart.
- Youngs Literal Bible
Surely oppression turneth a wise man into a fool; and a gift destroyeth the understanding.
- Jewish Publication Society Bible
Wesley's Notes for Ecclesiastes 7:7
7:7 A gift - A bribe given to a wise man, deprives him of the use of his understanding. So this verse discovers two ways whereby a wise man may be made mad, by suffering oppression from others, or by receiving bribes to oppress others. And this also is an argument of the vanity of worldly wisdom that is so easily corrupted and lost.