Ecclesiastes 4
4
Is It Better to Be Dead?
1Again I saw that many people are treated badly. I saw their tears, and I saw that there was no one to comfort them. I saw that cruel people had all the power, and I saw that there was no one to comfort the people they hurt. 2I decided that it is better for those who have died than for those who are still alive. 3And it is even better for those who die at birth, because they never saw the evil that is done in this world.#4:3 in this world Literally, “under the sun.”
Why Work So Hard?
4Then I thought, “Why do people work so hard?” I saw people try to succeed and be better than other people. They do this because they are jealous. They don’t want other people to have more than they have. This is senseless. It is like trying to catch the wind.#4:4 trying to catch the wind Or “It is very troubling to the spirit.” The word for “troubling” can also mean “craving,” and the word for “spirit” can also mean “wind.” Also in verse 16.
5Some people say, “It is foolish to fold your hands and do nothing. If you don’t work, you will starve to death.” 6Maybe that is true. But I say it is better to be satisfied with the few things you have than to always be struggling to get more.
7Again I saw something else that didn’t make sense: 8I saw a man who has no family, not a son or even a brother. But he continues to work very hard. He is never satisfied with what he has. And he works so hard that he never stops and asks himself, “Why am I working so hard? Why don’t I let myself enjoy my life?” This is also a very bad and senseless thing.
Friends and Family Give Strength
9Two people are better than one. When two people work together, they get more work done.
10If one person falls, the other person can reach out to help. But those who are alone when they fall have no one to help them.
11If two people sleep together, they will be warm. But a person sleeping alone will not be warm.
12An enemy might be able to defeat one person, but two people can stand back-to-back to defend each other. And three people are even stronger. They are like a rope that has three parts wrapped together—it is very hard to break.
People, Politics, and Popularity
13A young leader who is poor but wise is better than a king who is old but foolish. That old king does not listen to warnings. 14Maybe the young ruler was born a poor man in the kingdom. And maybe he came from prison to rule the country. 15But I have watched people in this life,#4:15 in this life Literally, “under the sun.” and I know this: People will follow that young man. He will become the new king. 16Many people will follow this young man. But later, those same people will not like him. This is also senseless. It is like trying to catch the wind.
Currently Selected:
Ecclesiastes 4: ERV
Highlight
Share
Copy
Want to have your highlights saved across all your devices? Sign up or sign in
© 1987, 2004 Bible League International
Kohelet (Ecc) 4
4
1But I turned away and thought about all the kinds of oppression being done under the sun.
I saw the tears of the oppressed,
and they had no one to comfort them.
The power was on the side of their oppressors,
and they had no one to comfort them.
2So I considered the dead happier, because they were already dead, than the living, who must still live their lives; 3but happier than either of them is the one who has not yet been born, because he has not yet seen the evil things that are done under the sun.
4Next I realized that all effort and achievement stem from one person’s envy of another. This too is futility and feeding on wind.
5Fools fold their arms together
and eat their own flesh away.
6Better an armload with tranquillity
than both arms full of effort and feeding on wind.
7Then I turned my attention to something else under the sun that is pointless: 8the situation in which a solitary individual without a companion, with neither son nor brother, keeps on working endlessly but never has enough wealth. “For whom” [he should ask], “am I working so hard and denying myself pleasure?” This too is truly pointless, a sorry business.
9Two are better than one, in that their cooperative efforts yield this advantage: 10if one of them falls, the other will help his partner up — woe to him who is alone when he falls and has no one to help him up. 11Again, if two people sleep together, they keep each other warm; but how can one person be warm by himself? 12Moreover, an attacker may defeat someone who is alone, but two can resist him; and a three-stranded cord is not easily broken.
13Better a youth who is poor but wise
than a king who is old but foolish,
no longer willing to listen to advice.
14True, he rose from prison to be king;
yet, while ruling, he became poor.
15I observed that all who live and walk under the sun took the side of the youth mentioned first who would rule in place of the king, 16and that no limit was set for the number of his subjects. Nevertheless, those who come afterwards will not regard him highly. This too is certainly pointless and feeding on wind.
17Watch your step when you go to the house of God. Offering to listen is better than fools offering sacrifices, because they don’t discern whether or not they are doing evil.
Currently Selected:
:
Highlight
Share
Copy
Want to have your highlights saved across all your devices? Sign up or sign in
For more information and to purchase a hard copy of the Complete Jewish Bible,
Learn More About Complete Jewish Bible