Ecclesiastes 7:7 - Joseph Benson’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments

Oppression maketh a wise man mad Either, 1st, When a wise man falls into the sin of oppressing others, he is infatuated by it, and by the riches which he gains in this way: or, rather, 2d, When a man is oppressed by wicked men, it often makes him fret and vex himself, and speak or act unadvisedly and foolishly. And a gift destroyeth the heart 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; and so it serves the main design of this book.