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.
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© 1987, 2004 Bible League International
Qoheleth (Ecclesiastes) 4
4
1Then I looked again at all the oppression that is done under the sun: And see! The tears of the oppressed, but they have no comforter; and power on the side of their oppressors, but they have no comforter.
2Therefore I commended the dead who were already dead, more than the living who are still alive.
3And better than both is he who has never existed, who has not seen the evil work that is done under the sun.
4And I saw that all the toil and skill of the work bring envy between man and his neighbour. That too is futile and feeding on wind.
5The fool folds his hands and consumes his own flesh.
6Better is a hand filled with rest than both hands filled with toil and feeding on wind.
7Then I looked again at futility under the sun:
8There is one, without a second, who has neither son nor brother. And there is no end to all his labours. His eye also is not satisfied with riches. “And for whom am I toiling and depriving myself of good?” That too is futility, and an evil task.
9Two are better than one, because they have a good reward for their labour.
10For if they fall, one lifts his companion up. But woe to him who is alone when he falls, for he has no one to help him up.
11Also, if two lie down together, they keep warm; but how does one keep warm by himself?
12Although one might be overpowered, two withstand him. And a threefold cord is not readily broken.
13A poor and wise youth is better than an old and foolish sovereign who no longer knows how to take warning.
14For he comes out of prison to be sovereign, although in his reign he was born poor.
15I have seen all the living who walk under the sun; they were with the second youth who stands in his place.
16There was no end of all the people; all of whom he headed. But the ones who come afterward do not rejoice in him. For that too is futile and feeding on wind.
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