Even in laughter the heart may ache, and joy may end in sorrow.
Parallel translations
- WEB Even in laughter the heart may be sorrowful, and mirth may end in heaviness.
- KJV Even in laughter the heart is sorrowful; and the end of that mirth is heaviness.
- ESV Even in laughter the heart may ache, and the end of joy may be grief.
- NKJV Even in laughter the heart may sorrow, And the end of mirth may be grief.
- NASB Even in laughter the heart may be in pain, And the end of joy may be grief.
- NLT Laughter can conceal a heavy heart, but when the laughter ends, the grief remains.
Scripture quotations are from the ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
Even laughter can mask sorrow, and joy can end in grief. Outward cheer does not always reflect inner reality.
Overview
This realistic proverb observes that mirth can coexist with a heavy heart and that fleeting pleasures may give way to sadness. It cautions against measuring well-being by surface appearances and against trusting worldly merriment for lasting joy. True and enduring joy is found not in passing amusement but in God Himself, in whose presence is fullness of joy (Psalm 16:11).
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 8
- Eccl 2:2I said of laughter, “It is folly,” and of pleasure, “What does it accomplish?”
- Jas 4:9Grieve, mourn, and weep. Turn your laughter to mourning, and your joy to gloom.
- Eccl 11:9Rejoice, O young man, while you are young, and let your heart be glad in the days of your youth. Walk in the ways of your heart and in the sight of your eyes, but know that for all these things God will bring you to judgment.
- Eccl 2:10–11Anything my eyes desired, I did not deny myself. I refused my heart no pleasure. For my heart took delight in all my work, and this was the reward for all my labor.
- Luke 16:25But Abraham answered, ‘Child, remember that during your lifetime you received your good things, while Lazarus received bad things. But now he is comforted here, while you are in agony.
- Prov 5:4in the end she is bitter as wormwood, sharp as a double-edged sword.
- Eccl 7:5–6It is better to heed a wise man’s rebuke than to listen to the song of fools.
- Rev 18:7–8As much as she has glorified herself and lived in luxury, give her the same measure of torment and grief. In her heart she says, ‘I sit as queen; I am not a widow and will never see grief.’
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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Christ at the center
Wisdom personified, with God before creation and the agent of all things, anticipates Christ 'in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom' — the wisdom of God made flesh.
How Proverbs 14:13 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
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