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THE MESSAGE
Ecclesiastes 7:7
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Surely, the practice of extortion turns a wise person into a fool,and a bribe corrupts the mind.
Surely extortion makes the wise man foolish; and a bribe destroys the understanding.
Surely oppression maketh a wise man mad; and a gift destroyeth the heart.
Surely oppression drives the wise into madness, and a bribe corrupts the heart.
For oppression makes a wise person look foolish, And a bribe corrupts the heart.
Even wise people are fools if they let money change their thinking.
For oppression makes a wise man foolish, And a bribe corrupts the [good judgment of the] heart.
Surely extortion makes the wise man foolish; and a bribe destroys the understanding.
Surely oppression maketh a wise man mad: and the rewarde destroyeth the heart.
For oppression gives a wise man over to madness,And a bribe destroys the heart.
Surely extortion turns a wise man into a fool, and a bribe corrupts the heart.
Corruption makes fools of sensible people, and bribes can ruin you.
But oppression can make a wise man stupid; also a gift can destroy understanding.
Surely oppression maketh a wise man mad, and a gift destroyeth the heart.
Even the wise will forget their wisdom, if someone pays them enough. That money destroys their understanding.
Surely slander destroys a wise man; and a bribe destroys the heart.
You may be wise, but if you cheat someone, you are acting like a fool. If you take a bribe, you ruin your character.
Surely oppression makes a fool of the wise, and a bribe corrupts the heart.
For oppression makes a wise man mad; and a bribe destroys the heart.
Who so doeth wronge, maketh a wyse man to go out of his witt, and destroyeth a gentle hert.
Surely extortion maketh the wise man foolish; and a bribe destroyeth the understanding.
The wise are troubled by the ways of the cruel, and the giving of money is the destruction of the heart.
Surely oppression turneth a wise man into a fool; and a gift destroyeth the understanding.
Surely oppression maketh a wise man mad: and a gift destroyeth the heart.
The wyse man hateth wrong dealing, and abhorreth the heart that coueteth rewardes.
As the sound of thorns under a caldron, so is the laughter of fools: this is also vanity.
Surely extortion maketh a wise man foolish; and a gift destroyeth the understanding.
Fals chalenge disturblith a wijs man, and it schal leese the strengthe of his herte.
Surely extortion makes the wise man foolish; and a bribe destroys the understanding.
Surely oppression maketh a wise man mad; and a gift destroyeth the heart.
Surely oppression can turn a wise person into a fool; likewise, a bribe corrupts the heart.
Surely oppression destroys a wise man's reason, And a bribe debases the heart.
Extortion turns wise people into fools, and bribes corrupt the heart.
For sure a bad power makes the wise man angry. And to get paid in secret for wrong-doing destroys the heart.
Surely oppression makes the wise foolish, and a bribe corrupts the heart.
For, oppression, maddeneth the wise, - and a bribe, destroyeth the understanding.
(7-8) Oppression troubleth the wise, and shall destroy the strength of his heart.
Surely oppression makes the wise man foolish, and a bribe corrupts the mind.
Surely oppression maketh the wise mad, And a gift destroyeth the heart.
For oppression makes a wise man mad, And a bribe corrupts the heart.
Contextual Overview
Bible Verse Review
from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge
oppression: Deuteronomy 28:33, Deuteronomy 28:34, Deuteronomy 28:65
a gift: Exodus 23:8, Deuteronomy 16:19, 1 Samuel 8:3, 1 Samuel 12:3, Proverbs 17:23, Isaiah 1:23, Isaiah 33:15
Reciprocal: 1 Samuel 21:13 - changed 1 Samuel 21:14 - is mad Ecclesiastes 4:1 - and considered Hosea 4:11 - take
Cross-References
"But I'm going to establish a covenant with you: You'll board the ship, and your sons, your wife and your sons' wives will come on board with you. You are also to take two of each living creature, a male and a female, on board the ship, to preserve their lives with you: two of every species of bird, mammal, and reptile—two of everything so as to preserve their lives along with yours. Also get all the food you'll need and store it up for you and them."
Next God said to Noah, "Now board the ship, you and all your family—out of everyone in this generation, you're the righteous one.
That's the day Noah and his sons Shem, Ham, and Japheth, accompanied by his wife and his sons' wives, boarded the ship. And with them every kind of wild and domestic animal, right down to all the kinds of creatures that crawl and all kinds of birds and anything that flies. They came to Noah and to the ship in pairs—everything and anything that had the breath of life in it, male and female of every creature came just as God had commanded Noah. Then God shut the door behind him.
A prudent person sees trouble coming and ducks; a simpleton walks in blindly and is clobbered.
By faith, Noah built a ship in the middle of dry land. He was warned about something he couldn't see, and acted on what he was told. The result? His family was saved. His act of faith drew a sharp line between the evil of the unbelieving world and the rightness of the believing world. As a result, Noah became intimate with God.
Gill's Notes on the Bible
Surely oppression maketh a wise man mad,.... Which is to be understood either passively, when he is oppressed by others, or sees others oppressed; it raises indignation in him, disturbs his mind, and he is ready to pass a wrong judgment on the dispensations of Providence, and to say rash and unadvised things concerning them,
Psalms 73:2; or actively, of oppression with which he oppresses others; when he gives into such measures, his wisdom departs from him, his mind is besotted, he acts the part of a madman, and pierces himself through with many sorrows. Some understand this of wealth got in an ill way; or of gifts given to bribe men to do injury to others; and which the following clause is thought to explain;
and a gift destroyeth the heart; blinds the eyes of judges other ways wise; perverts their judgment, and causes them to pass a wrong sentence, as well as perverts justice: or, "and destroys the heart of gifts" k; a heart that is possessed of the gifts of wisdom and knowledge; or a munificent heart, a heart disposed to give bountifully and liberally, that oppression destroys and renders useless.
k ויאבד את לב מתנה "et frangit cor dotibus praeclaris ornatum", Tigurine version; so some Jewish writers in Mercerus.
Barnes' Notes on the Bible
Rather, oppression (or extortions) maketh a wise man foolish; and a bribe etc. If a wise man, being in a high position, exercises oppression (see Psalms 62:10), or practices extortion, he becomes a fool in so doing. This verse is a warning against impatience in the exercise of power or the acquisition of riches.
Clarke's Notes on the Bible
Verse Ecclesiastes 7:7. Oppression maketh a wise man mad — This has been translated with good show of reason, "Surely oppression shall give lustre to a wise man: but a gift corrupteth the heart."
The chief difference here is in the word יהולל yeholel, which, from the root הלל halal, signifies to glister, irradiate, as well as to move briskly, to be mad, furious, in a rage; and certainly the former meaning suits this place best. We cannot think that the wise man - he that is truly religious, (for this is its meaning in the language of Solomon,) can be made mad by any kind of oppression; but as he trusts in God, so in patience he possesses his soul.
