Ecclesiastes 4–8

4TH CHAPTER

Better Not to Have Been Born

¹Next, I turned to look at all the acts of oppression that make people suffer under the sun. Look at the tears of those who suffer! No one can comfort them. Their oppressors have ⸤all⸥ the power. No one can comfort those who suffer. ²I congratulate the dead, who have already died, rather than the living, who still have to carry on. ³But the person who hasn’t been born yet is better off than both of them. He hasn’t seen the evil that is done under the sun. 

Hard Work Versus Laziness

⁴Then I saw that all hard work and skillful effort come from rivalry. Even this is pointless. ⸤It’s like⸥ trying to catch the wind. ⁵A fool folds his hands and wastes away. ⁶One handful of peace and quiet is better than two handfuls of hard work and of trying to catch the wind. 

Those Who Are All Alone

⁷Next, I turned to look at something pointless under the sun: ⁸There are people who are all alone. They have no children or other family members. So there is no end to all the hard work they have to do. Their eyes are never satisfied with riches. But ⸤they never ask themselves⸥ why they are working so hard and depriving themselves of good things. Even this is pointless and a terrible tragedy. 

Two Are Better Than One

⁹Two people are better than one because ⸤together⸥ they have a good reward for their hard work. ¹⁰If one falls, the other can help his friend get up. But how tragic it is for the one who is ⸤all⸥ alone when he falls. There is no one to help him get up. ¹¹Again, if two people lie down together, they can keep warm, but how can one person keep warm? ¹²Though one person may be overpowered by another, two people can resist one opponent. A triple-braided rope is not easily broken. 

Rulers and Fickle Citizens

¹³A young man who is poor and wise is better than an old, foolish king who won’t take advice any longer. 

¹⁴A young man came out of prison to rule as king, even though he had been born in poverty in that same kingdom. ¹⁵I saw all living people moving about under the sun. They sided with the second young man, the king’s successor. ¹⁶There was no end to all those people, everyone whom he led.^aBut those who will come later will not be happy with the successor. Even this is pointless. ⸤It’s like⸥ trying to catch the wind. 

5TH CHAPTER^a

Don’t Daydream or Speak Carelessly When You Worship

¹Watch your step when you go to the house of God. It is better to go there and listen than to bring the sacrifices fools bring. Fools are unaware that they are doing ⸤something⸥ evil. 

²Don’t be in a hurry to talk. Don’t be eager to speak in the presence of God. Since God is in heaven and you are on earth, limit the number of your words. 

³Daydreaming comes when there are too many worries. 

Careless speaking comes when there are too many words. 

⁴When you make a promise to God, don’t be slow to keep it because God doesn’t like fools. Keep your promise. ⁵It is better not to make a promise than to make one and not keep it. ⁶Don’t let your mouth talk you into committing a sin. Don’t say in the presence of a ⸤temple⸥ messenger, “My promise was a mistake!” Why should God become angry at your excuse and destroy what you’ve accomplished? 

⁷In spite of many daydreams, pointless actions, and empty words, you should still fear God. 

Corrupt Officials Have Corrupt Officials over Them

⁸Don’t be surprised if you see poor people being oppressed, denied justice, or denied their rights in any district. One authority is watching over another, and they both have authorities watching over them. ⁹Yet, a king is an advantage for a country with cultivated fields. 

The Value of Money

¹⁰Whoever loves money will never be satisfied with money. Whoever loves wealth will never be satisfied with more income. Even this is pointless. ¹¹As the number of goods increase, so do the number of people who consume them. What do owners gain ⸤from all their goods⸥ except ⸤the opportunity⸥ to look at them? 

¹²The sleep of working people is sweet, whether they eat a little or a lot. But the full stomachs that rich people have will not allow them to sleep. 

Economic Ruin

¹³There is a painful tragedy that I have seen under the sun: Riches lead to the downfall of those who hoard them. ¹⁴These hoarded riches were then lost in bad business deals. The owners had children, but now they have nothing to give them. ¹⁵They came from their mother’s womb naked. They will leave as naked as they came. They won’t even be able to take a handful of their earnings with them from all their hard work. 

¹⁶This also is a painful tragedy: They leave exactly as they came. What advantage do they gain from working so hard for the wind? ¹⁷They spend their entire lives in darkness, in constant frustration, sickness, and resentment. 

Conclusion: God Alone Gives Contentment

¹⁸At last I have seen what is good and beautiful: It is to eat and drink and to enjoy the good in all our hard work under the sun during the brief lives God gives us. That is our lot ⸤in life⸥. ¹⁹It is a gift from God when God gives some people wealth and possessions, the power to enjoy them, ⸤the ability⸥ to accept their lot in life, and ⸤the ability⸥ to rejoice in their own hard work. ²⁰These people won’t give much thought to their brief lives because God keeps them occupied with the joy in their hearts. 

6TH CHAPTER

The Rich Person and the Stillborn Baby

¹There is a tragedy that I have seen under the sun. It is a terrible one for mortals. ²God gives one person riches, wealth, and honor so that he doesn’t lack anything he wants. Yet, God doesn’t give him the power to enjoy any of them. Instead, a stranger enjoys them. This is pointless and is a painful tragedy. 

³Suppose a rich person wasn’t satisfied with good things ⸤while he was alive⸥ and didn’t even get an honorable burial ⸤after he died⸥. Suppose he had a hundred children and lived for many years. No matter how long he would have lived, it ⸤still⸥ would have been better for him to have been born dead. ⁴A stillborn baby arrives in a pointless birth and goes out into the darkness. The darkness then hides its name. ⁵Though it has never seen the sun or known anything, the baby finds more rest than the rich person. ⁶Even if the rich person lives two thousand years without experiencing anything good—don’t we all go to the same place? 

More Pointless Challenges

⁷Everything that people work so hard for goes into their mouths, but their appetite is never satisfied. 

⁸What advantage does a wise person have over a fool? What advantage does a poor person have in knowing how to face life? 

⁹It is better to look at what is in front of you than to go looking for what you want. Even this is pointless. ⸤It’s like⸥ trying to catch the wind. 

¹⁰Whatever has happened ⸤in the past⸥ already has a name. Mortals are already known for what they are. Mortals cannot argue with the one who is stronger than they. 

¹¹The more words there are, the more pointless they become. What advantage do mortals gain from this? ¹²Who knows what may be good for mortals while they are alive, during the brief, pointless days they live? Mortals pass by like a shadow. Who will tell them about their future under the sun? 

7TH CHAPTER

Proverbs about Life

¹A good name is better than expensive perfume, and the day you die is better than the day you’re born. ²It is better to go to a funeral than to a banquet because that is where everyone will end up. Everyone who is alive should take this to heart! ³Sorrow is better than laughter because, in spite of a sad face, the heart can be joyful. ⁴The minds of wise people think about funerals, but the minds of fools think about banquets. 

⁵It is better to listen to wise people who reprimand you than to fools who sing your praises. ⁶The laughter of a fool is like the crackling of thorns burning under a pot. Even this is pointless. 

⁷Oppression can turn a wise person into a fool, and a bribe can corrupt the mind. 

⁸The end of something is better than its beginning. It is better to be patient than arrogant. 

⁹Don’t be quick to get angry, because anger is typical of fools. ¹⁰Don’t ask, “Why were things better in the old days than they are now?” It isn’t wisdom that leads you to ask this! 

Wisdom Gives Life

¹¹Wisdom is as good as an inheritance. It is an advantage to everyone who sees the sun. ¹²Wisdom protects us just as money protects us, but the advantage of wisdom is that it gives life to those who have it. 

¹³Consider what God has done! Who can straighten what God has bent? 

A Truth for Every Situation

¹⁴When times are good, be happy. But when times are bad, consider this: God has made the one time as well as the other so that mortals cannot predict their future. 

Mortals Don’t Get What They Deserve

¹⁵I have seen it all in my pointless life: 

Righteous people die in spite of being righteous. 

Wicked people go on living in spite of being wicked. 

¹⁶Don’t be too virtuous, and don’t be too wise. Why make yourself miserable? ¹⁷Don’t be too wicked, and don’t be a fool. Why should you die before your time is up? ¹⁸It’s good to hold on to the one and not let go of the other, because the one who fears God will be able to avoid both extremes. 

The Advantages of Wisdom

¹⁹Wisdom will help a wise person more than ten rulers can help a city. ²⁰Certainly, there is no one so righteous on earth that he always does what is good and never sins. 

²¹Don’t take everything that people say to heart, or you may hear your own servant cursing you. ²²Your conscience knows that you have cursed others many times. 

²³I used wisdom to test all of this. I said, “I want to be wise, but it is out of my reach.” ²⁴Whatever wisdom may be, it is out of reach. It is deep, very deep. Who can find out what it is? ²⁵I turned my attention to study, to explore, and to seek out wisdom and the reason for things. I learned that wickedness is stupid and foolishness is madness. 

²⁶I find that a woman whose thoughts are ⸤like⸥ traps and snares is more bitter than death itself. Even her hands are…