Ecclesiastes 4–5

4So ^aI returned, and considered all the ^boppressions that are done under the sun: and behold the tears of such as were oppressed, and they had ^cno comforter; and on the ^†side of their oppressors there was power; but they had ^cno comforter. ²Wherefore ^dI praised the dead which are ^ealready dead more than the living which are ^fyet alive. ³Yea, better is he than both they, ^dgwhich hath not ^fyet been, who hath not seen the evil work that is done under the sun.

⁴Again, I considered all travail, and ^†every right work, that ^†for this a man ⁱis envied of his neighbour. This is also ^jvanity and vexation of spirit. ⁵The fool ^kfoldeth his hands together, and ^leateth his own flesh. ^6mBetter is an handful with ⁿquietness, than both the hands full with travail and ^jvexation of spirit.

⁷Then ^oI returned, and I saw vanity under the sun. ⁸There is one alone, and there is not a second; yea, he hath neither child nor brother: yet is there no end of all his labour; neither is his ^peye satisfied with riches; neither ^qsaith he, ^rFor whom do I labour, and bereave my soul of good? This is also vanity, yea, it is a sore ^stravail. ⁹Two 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 ^twoe to him that is alone when he falleth; for he hath not another to help him up. ¹¹Again, if two lie together, then they have heat: but ^uhow can one be warm alone? ¹²And if one ^xprevail against him, two shall withstand him; and a ^ythreefold cord is not quickly broken.

^13zBetter is a ^apoor and a wise child than an old and ^bfoolish king, ^†who will no more be ^cadmonished. ^14dFor out of ^eprison he cometh to reign; ^fwhereas also he that is born in his kingdom becometh poor. ¹⁵I considered all the living which walk under the sun, ^gwith the second child that shall stand up in his stead. ¹⁶There is no end of all the people, even of all that have been before them: ^hthey also that come after shall not rejoice in him. Surely this also is ⁱvanity and vexation of spirit.

5^aKeep thy foot when thou goest to ^aathe house of God, and be more ready to hear, ^bthan to give the sacrifice of fools: for they consider not that they do evil. ^2cBe not rash with thy mouth, and let not thine heart be hasty to utter any ^||thing before God: for God is in heaven, and thou upon earth: therefore let thy words be ^dfew. ³For a dream cometh through the multitude of ^ebusiness; and a fool’s voice is known ^fby multitude of words. ^4gWhen thou vowest a vow unto God, ^hdefer not to pay it; for he hath no ⁱpleasure in fools: pay that which thou hast vowed. ⁵Better is it that thou shouldest not vow, than that thou shouldest vow and not pay. ^6jSuffer not thy mouth to cause thy flesh to sin; neither say thou before ^kthe angel, that it was ^lan error: wherefore should God be angry at thy voice, and destroy the work of thine hands? ⁷For in the multitude of dreams and many words there are also divers vanities: but ^mfear thou God.

⁸ⁿIf thou seest ^othe oppression of the poor, and ^oviolent perverting of judgment and justice in a ^pprovince, marvel not ^†at the matter: for ^qhe that is higher than the highest regardeth; and there be higher than they.

⁹Moreover ^rthe profit of the earth is for all: the king himself is served by the field. ¹⁰He that loveth silver shall not be satisfied with silver; nor he that loveth ^sabundance with increase: this is also vanity. ¹¹When goods increase, they are increased that eat them: and what ^tgood is there to ^uthe owners thereof, saving the beholding of them with their eyes? ¹²The sleep of a labouring man is sweet, whether he eat little or much: but the abundance of the rich will not suffer him to sleep.

^13xThere is ^ya sore evil which I have seen under the sun, namely, riches kept for ^uthe owners thereof to their hurt. ¹⁴But those riches perish by evil ^ztravail: and he begetteth a son, and there is nothing in his hand. ^15aAs he came forth of his mother’s womb, naked shall he return to go as he came, and shall take nothing of his labour, which he may carry away in his hand. ¹⁶And this also is ^ya sore evil, that in all points as he came, so shall he go: and ^bwhat profit hath he that hath ^claboured for the wind? ¹⁷All his days also ^dhe eateth in darkness, and he hath much sorrow and wrath with his sickness.

¹⁸Behold that which I have seen: ^e†it is good and comely for one to eat and to drink, and to ^fenjoy the good of all his labour that he taketh under the sun ^†all the days of his life, which God giveth him: for ^git is his portion. ¹⁹Every man also ^hto whom God hath given riches and ⁱwealth, and hath given him power to eat thereof, and to take his portion, and to rejoice in his labour; ^kthis is the gift of God. ^20||For he shall not much remember the days of his life; because God answereth him in the joy of his heart.