Ecclesiastes 7:5

It is better for a person to receive ¹  a rebuke from those who are wise ²  than to listen to the song ³  of fools.

Ps 69:12; Ps 141:5; Pr 9:8; Pr 13:13; Pr 15:31,32; Pr 17:10; Pr 27:6; Re 3:19

¹ tn Heb “hear.”

² tn Heb “rebuke of the wise,” a subjective genitive (“the wise” administer the rebuke).

³ tn Or “praise.” The antithetical parallelism between “rebuke” (גַּעֲרַת, ga’arat) and “song” (שִׁיר, shir) suggests that the latter is figurative (metonymy of association) for praise/flattery which is “music” to the ears: “praise of fools” (NEB, NJPS) and “flattery of fools” (Douay). However, the collocation of “song” (שִׁיר) in 7:5 with “laughter” (שְׂחֹק, sÿkhoq) in 7:6 suggests simply frivolous merrymaking: “song of fools” (KJV, NASB, NIV, ASV, RSV, NRSV).