the heart may ache
The "heart" in Hebrew, "לֵב" (lev), is considered the center of not just emotions but also thoughts and will. The phrase "may ache" uses the Hebrew "כָּאַב" (ka'av), indicating a deep, internal pain or sorrow. This highlights the biblical understanding that the heart is the seat of true emotion and that it can experience profound distress even when outward appearances suggest otherwise. This duality is a reminder of the human condition's complexity and the need for genuine empathy and understanding in our relationships.

and joy
The word "joy" in Hebrew is "שִׂמְחָה" (simchah), which often refers to a state of gladness or delight. In biblical times, joy was frequently associated with divine blessings and communal celebrations. However, this verse introduces a paradox, suggesting that joy, while desirable, is not immune to the trials and tribulations of life. It serves as a reminder that earthly joy is temporary and can be disrupted by unforeseen circumstances.

may end in sorrow
The Hebrew word for "sorrow" is "תּוּגָה" (tugah), which conveys a sense of grief or mourning. This phrase underscores the transient nature of worldly happiness and the inevitability of life's challenges. In the biblical narrative, sorrow is often a catalyst for spiritual growth and reliance on God. This part of the verse encourages believers to seek a deeper, more enduring joy that is rooted in faith and the promises of God, rather than in the fleeting pleasures of the world.

"Medio de fonte leporum
Surgit amari aliquid, quod in ipsis fioribus angat. The text is scarcely to be taken as universally true, but either as specially applicable to those mentioned in the preceding verse, or as teaching that the outward mirth often cloaks hidden sorrow (comp. Virgil, 'AEneid,' 1:208, etc.). And the end of that joy is bitterness; it has in it no element of endurance, and when it is past, the real grief that it masked comes into prominence. In this mortal life also joy and sorrow are strangely intermingled; sorrow fellows closely on the steps of joy; as some one somewhere says, "The sweetest waters at length find their way to the sea, and are embittered there." Lesetre refers to Pascal, 'Pensees,' 2:1: "Tous se plaignent...de tout pays, de tout temps, de tous ages, et de toutes conditions. Une preuve si longue, si continuelle et si uniforme, devrait bien nous convaincre de l'impuissance ou nous sommes d'arriver au bien par nos efforts: mais l'exemple ne nous intruit point... Le present ne nous satisfaisant jamais, l'esperance nous pipe, et, de malheur en malheur, nous meue jusqu'a la mort, qui en est le comble eternel. C'est une chose etrange, qu'il n'y a rien dans la nature qui n'ait ete capable de tenir la place de la fin et du bonheur de l'homme .... L'homme etant dechu de son etat naturel, il n'y arien a quoi il n'ait ete capable de so porter. Depuis qu'il a perdu le vrai bien, tout egalement peut lui paraitre tel, jusqu'a ea destruction propre, toute contraire qu'elle est a la raison et a la nature tout ensemble." This illustrates also ver. 12. Proverbs like "There is no rose without a thorn" are common enough in all languages. The Latins said, "Ubi uber, ibi tuber;" and "Ubi mel, ibi fel." Greek experience produced the gnome -

Αρ ἐστὶ συγγενές τι λύπη καὶ βίος.

"Sorrow and life are very near of kin." Who Christian learns another lesson, "Blessed are they that mourn: for they shall be comforted" (Matthew 5:4). The LXX. has introduced a negative, which gives a sense exactly contrary to the Hebrew and to all the other versions: "In joys there is no admixture of sorrow, but the final joy cometh unto grief." The negative has doubtless crept inadvertently into the text; if it were genuine, the sentence might be explained of the sinner's joy, which he finds for a time and exults in, but which does not last, and is felt to be a delusion as life closes.

Parallel Commentaries ...