Charles Ellicott Commentary Ecclesiastes 7:3

"Sorrow is better than laughter; for by the sadness of the countenance the heart is made glad." — Ecclesiastes 7:3 (ASV)

Sadness of the countenance.—Genesis 40:7; Nehemiah 3:3. “Anger” (margin). This is the usual meaning of the word, and so in Ecclesiastes 7:9. It is accordingly adopted here by the older translators, but the rendering of our version is required by the context.