Ecclesiastes 7:5

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 שׁ are used, for the twofold act of hearing is divided between different subjects. A fire of thorn-twigs flickers up quickly and crackles merrily, but also exhausts itself quickly (Psa 118:12), without sufficiently boiling the flesh in the pot; whilst a log of wood, without making any noise, accomplishes this quietly and surely. We agree with Knobel and Vaihinger in copying the paronomasia [Nessel-Kessel]. When, on the other hand, Zckler remarks that a fire of nettles could scarcely crackle, we advise our friend to try it for once in the end of summer with a bundle of stalks of tall dry nettles. They yield a clear blaze, a quickly expiring fire, to which here, as he well remarks, the empty laughter of foolish men is compared, who are devoid of all earnestness, and of all deep moral principles of life. This laughter is vain, like that crackling. There is a hiatus between Ecc 7:6 and Ecc 7:7. For how Ecc 7:7 can be related to Ecc 7:6 as furnishing evidence, no interpreter has as yet been able to say. Hitzig regards Ecc 7:6 as assigning a reason for Ecc 7:5, but 6b as a reply (as Ecc 7…

Solomon had given many proofs and instances of the vanity of this world and the things of it; now, in this chapter, I. He recommends to us some good means proper to be used for the redress of these grievances and the arming of ourselves against the mischief we are in danger of from them, that we may make the best of the bad, as 1. Care of our reputation (Ecc 7:1). 2. Seriousness (Ecc 7:2-6). 3. Calmness of spirit (Ecc 7:7-10). 4. Prudence in the management of all our affairs (Ecc 7:11, Ecc 7:12). 5. Submission to the will of God in all events, accommodating ourselves to every condition (Ecc 7:13-15). 6. A conscientious avoiding of all dangerous extremes (Ecc 7:16-18). 7. Mildness and tenderness towards those that have been injurious to us (Ecc 7:19-22). In short, the best way to save ourselves from the vexation which the vanity of the world creates us is to keep our temper and to maintain a strict government of our passions. II. He laments his own iniquity, as that which was more vexatious than any of these vanities, that mystery of iniquity, the having of many wives, by which he was drawn away from God and his duty (Ecc 7:23-29).

7:5-6 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).