Ecclesiastes 4
4
Is It Better to Be Dead?
1Again I saw all the people who were treated badly here on earth.
I saw their tears.
I saw that they had no one to comfort them.
Cruel people had all the power.
There was no one to comfort the people they hurt.
2I decided that the dead
are better off than the living.
3But those who have never been born
are better off still.
They have not seen the evil
that is done here on earth.
Why Work So Hard?
4I realized the reason people work hard and try to succeed: They are jealous of each other. This, too, is useless. It is like chasing the wind.
5Some say that it is foolish to fold your hands and do nothing.
You will starve to death!
6Maybe so, but I say it is better to be content
with what little you have.
Otherwise, you will always be struggling for more.
That is like chasing the wind.
7Again I saw something here on earth that was senseless:
8I saw a person who had no family.
He had no son or brother.
He always worked hard.
But he was never satisfied with what he had.
He never asked himself, “For whom am I working so hard?
Why don’t I let myself enjoy life?”
This also is very sad and senseless.
Friends and Family Give Strength
9Two people are better than one.
They get more done by working together.
10If one person falls,
the other can help him up.
But it is bad for the person who is alone when he falls.
No one is there to help him.
11If two lie down together, they will be warm.
But a person alone will not be warm.
12An enemy might defeat one person,
but two people together can defend themselves.
A rope that has three parts wrapped together
is hard to break.
Fame and Power Are Useless
13A young person may be poor but wise. He is better than a foolish, old king who doesn’t listen to advice. 14I saw such a young person become king. He had been born poor in the kingdom. He had even gone to prison before becoming king. 15I watched some of the people who live on earth follow him. They made him their king. 16Yes, a great many people followed him at first. But later, they did not like him, either. So fame and power are shown to be useless. They are like chasing the wind.
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Copyright © 2015 by Tommy Nelson™, a Division of Thomas Nelson, Inc. All rights reserved. Used by permission.
Ecclesiastes 4
4
1 Then I returned and saw all the oppressions that are done under the sun: and behold, the tears of those who were oppressed, and they had no comforter; and on the side of their oppressors there was power; but they had no comforter. 2Therefore I praised the dead who have been long dead more than the living who are yet alive. 3Yes, better than them both is him who has not yet been, who has not seen the evil work that is done under the sun. 4Then I saw all the labour and achievement that is the envy of a man’s neighbour. This also is vanity and a striving after wind.
5 The fool folds his hands together and ruins himself. 6Better is a handful, with quietness, than two handfuls with labour and chasing after wind.
7 Then I returned and saw vanity under the sun. 8There is one who is alone, and he has neither son nor brother. There is no end to all of his labour, neither are his eyes satisfied with wealth. “For whom then do I labour and deprive my soul of enjoyment?” This also is vanity. Yes, it is a miserable business.
9 Two are better than one, because they have a good reward for their labour. 10For if they fall, the one will lift up his fellow; but woe to him who is alone when he falls, and doesn’t have another to lift him up. 11Again, if two lie together, then they have warmth; but how can one keep warm alone? 12If a man prevails against one who is alone, two shall withstand him; and a threefold cord is not quickly broken.
13 Better is a poor and wise youth than an old and foolish king who doesn’t know how to receive admonition any more. 14For out of prison he came out to be king; yes, even in his kingdom he was born poor. 15I saw all the living who walk under the sun, that they were with the youth, the other, who succeeded him. 16There was no end of all the people, even of all them over whom he was—yet those who come after shall not rejoice in him. Surely this also is vanity and a chasing after wind.
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