Ecclesiastes 7:7
Translations
King James Version (KJV)
Surely oppression makes a wise man mad; and a gift destroys the heart.
American King James Version (AKJV)
Surely oppression makes a wise man mad; and a gift destroys the heart.
American Standard Version (ASV)
Surely extortion maketh the wise man foolish; and a bribe destroyeth the understanding.
Basic English Translation (BBE)
The wise are troubled by the ways of the cruel, and the giving of money is the destruction of the heart.
Webster's Revision
Surely oppression maketh a wise man mad; and a gift destroyeth the heart.
World English Bible
Surely extortion makes the wise man foolish; and a bribe destroys the understanding.
English Revised Version (ERV)
Surely extortion maketh a wise man foolish; and a gift destroyeth the understanding.
Clarke's Ecclesiastes 7:7 Bible Commentary
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, signiffes 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.
Barnes's Ecclesiastes 7:7 Bible Commentary
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 Psalm 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.
Wesley's Ecclesiastes 7:7 Bible Commentary
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.
