Ecclesiastes 7:6

"For as the crackling of thorn bushes under. pot, so is the laughter of. fool, and this too is futility."

In the Hebrew, there is. pun or play on words here. "For as the crackling of thorns (nesseln) under the pot (kessel). In the East, and where wood is scarce, thorns, hay and stubble are used for fuel (Matthew 3:12). Such materials are quickly kindled, blaze up for. time with much noise, and soon die away. The point of comparison is the loud crackling and the short duration of the fire with small results. So the fool's mirth is boisterous and noisy, but comes to. speedy end, and is spent to no good purpose" (P.P. Comm. p. 157). The pun in English would be something like, "as nettles under the kettle".

You May As Well Face Facts

Concerning this section Kidner notes, "There are almost as many moods and standpoints here as there are sayings, but. certain low-key approach to the subject marks most of them….In verse. we can recognize the essence of. law which, in modern times, Lord Acton formulated as 'All power tends to corrupt…'" (pp. 66-67).