Ecclesiastes 3:16–4:6

Injustice Seems to Prevail

16 Moreover oI saw under the sun:

In the place of 4judgment,

Wickedness was there;

And in the place of righteousness,

5Iniquity was there.

17 I said in my heart,

p“God shall judge the righteous and the wicked,

For there is a time there for every 6purpose and for every work.”

18 I said in my heart, “Concerning the condition of the sons of men, God tests them, that they may see that they themselves are like animals.” 19 qFor what happens to the sons of men also happens to animals; one thing befalls them: as one dies, so dies the other. Surely, they all have one breath; man has no advantage over animals, for all is vanity. 20 All go to one place: rall are from the dust, and all return to dust. 21 sWho 7knows the spirit of the sons of men, which goes upward, and the spirit of the animal, which goes down to the earth? 22 tSo I perceived that nothing is better than that a man should rejoice in his own works, for uthat is his 8heritage. vFor who can bring him to see what will happen after him?

4 Then I returned and considered all the aoppression that is done under the sun:

And look! The tears of the oppressed,

But they have no comforter—

1On the side of their oppressors there is power,

But they have no comforter.

2 bTherefore I praised the dead who were already dead,

More than the living who are still alive.

3 cYet, better than both is he who has never existed,

Who has not seen the evil work that is done under the sun.

The Vanity of Selfish Toil

4 Again, I saw that for all toil and every skillful work a man is envied by his neighbor. This also is vanity and grasping for the wind.

5 dThe fool folds his hands

And consumes his own flesh.

6 eBetter a handful with quietness

Than both hands full, together with toil and grasping for the wind.