Ecclesiastes 4:1–8:1

The Tears of the Oppressed

¹Then I looked again at all the acts of ^aoppression which were being done under the sun. And behold, I saw the tears of the oppressed and that they had ^bno one to comfort them; and on the side of their oppressors was power, but they had no one to comfort them.

²So ^aI lauded the dead who are already dead more than the living who are still living.

³But ^abetter off than both of them is the one who never has been, who has never seen the evil work that is done under the sun.

⁴I have seen that every labor and every ^asuccess of the work is the result of jealousy between a man and his neighbor. This too is ^1bvanity and striving after wind.

⁵The fool ^afolds his hands in embrace and ^bconsumes his own flesh.

⁶One hand full of rest is ^abetter than two fists full of labor and striving after wind.

⁷Then I looked again at vanity under the sun.

⁸There was a certain man without a second man, having neither a son nor a brother, yet there was no end to all his labor. Indeed, ^ahis eyes were not satisfied with riches—“And ^bfor whom am I laboring and depriving myself of good?” This too is vanity, and it is a ^cgrievous endeavor.

⁹Two are better than one because they have good wages for their labor.

¹⁰For if ¹either of them falls, the one will lift up his companion. But woe to the one who falls when there is not a second one to lift him up.

¹¹Furthermore, if two lie down together they ¹keep warm, but ^ahow can one be warm alone?

¹²And if ¹one can overpower him who is alone, two can stand against him. A cord of three strands is not quickly torn apart.

¹³A ^apoor yet wise lad is better than an old and foolish king who no longer knows how to receive ¹warning.

¹⁴For he has come ^aout of prison to become king, even though he was born poor in his kingdom.

¹⁵I have seen all the living who walk about under the sun go along with the second lad who stands in place of him.

¹⁶There is no end to all the people, to all who were before them, and even the ones who will come later will not be glad with him, for this too is ^avanity and striving after wind.

CHAPTER 5

Fear God

^11aGuard your steps as you go to the house of God and draw near to listen rather than to offer the ^bsacrifice of fools; for they do not know they are doing evil.

²¹Do not be ^ahasty with your mouth or ²impulsive in your heart to bring up a matter in the presence of God. For God is in heaven but you are on the earth; therefore let your ^bwords be few.

³For the dream comes through abundant endeavor and the voice of a ^afool through abundant words.

⁴When you ^amake a vow to God, do not be late in paying it; for He takes no delight in fools. ^bPay what you vow!

⁵It is ^abetter that you should not vow than that you should vow and not pay.

⁶Do not allow your mouth to cause your flesh to sin, and do not say in the presence of the messenger of God that it was a ^amistake. Why should God be angry on account of your voice and wreak destruction on the work of your hands?

⁷For in many dreams and vanities are many words. Rather, ^1afear God.

The Vanity of Riches

⁸If you see ^aoppression of the poor and ^brobbery of justice and righteousness in the province, do not be ^castonished over the ¹matter; for a lofty one keeps watch over another lofty one, and there are loftier ones over them.

⁹But the advantage of the land in everything is this—a king committed to a cultivated field.

^10aHe who loves money will not be satisfied with money, nor he who loves abundance with its produce. This too is ¹vanity.

^11aWhen good things increase, those who consume them increase. So what is the success to their masters except to look on with their eyes?

¹²The sleep of the laboring man is ^asweet, whether he eats little or much; but the satisfaction of the rich man does not ¹allow him to sleep.

¹³There is a sickening evil which I have seen under the sun: ^ariches being ¹hoarded by their master to his own evil demise.

¹⁴And those riches were lost through a bad endeavor; and he became the father of a son, but there was nothing in his hand for him.

^15aAs he had come naked from his mother’s womb, so will he return as he came. He will ^bcarry nothing from the fruit of his labor that he can bring in his hand.

¹⁶This also is a sickening evil—exactly as a man came, so will he go. So ^awhat is the advantage to him who ^blabors for the wind?

¹⁷Also, all his days ^ahe eats in darkness with ^bmuch vexation, and his sickness and anger.

¹⁸Here is what I have seen to be ^agood, which is ¹beautiful: to eat, to drink, and to see good in all one’s labor in which he labors under the sun during the few days of his life which God has given him; for this is his ^bportion.

¹⁹Furthermore, as for every man to whom ^aGod has given riches and wealth, He has also ^bempowered him to eat from them and to take up his portion and be glad in his labor; this is the ^cgift of God.

²⁰For he will not remember much the days of his life because ^aGod allows ¹him to occupy himself with the gladness of his heart.

CHAPTER 6

The Vanity of Life

¹There is an ^aevil which I have seen under the sun and it is prevalent ¹among men—

²a man to whom God ^agives riches and wealth and honor so that his soul ^blacks nothing of all that he desires; yet God does not empower him to eat from them, for a foreigner eats from them. This is ¹vanity and a sickening evil.

³If a man becomes the father of one hundred children and lives many years, however many the days of his years may be, but his soul is not satisfied with good things, and he does not even have a proper ^aburial, then I say, “Better ^bthe miscarriage than he,

⁴for that one comes in vanity and goes into darkness; and that one’s name is covered in darkness.

⁵“Indeed, that one never sees the sun and never knows anything; ¹that one has more rest than he.

⁶“Even if the other man lives one thousand years twice and does not see good things—^ado not all go to the same place?”

^7aAll a man’s labor is for his mouth, and yet the soul is not fulfilled.

⁸For ^awhat advantage does the wise man have over the fool? What advantage does the afflicted man have, knowing how to walk before the living?

⁹What the eyes ^asee is better than what the soul goes after. This too is ^bvanity and striving after wind.

¹⁰Whatever ^aexists has already been named, and it is known what man is; and he ^bcannot dispute with him who is stronger than he is.

¹¹For there are many words which increase vanity. What then is the advantage to a man?

¹²For who knows what is good for a man during his lifetime, during the few days of his vain life? He will make do with them like a ^ashadow. For who can tell a man ^bwhat will be after him under the sun?

CHAPTER 7

Wisdom and Folly Contrasted

¹Better is a ^agood name than good oil,

And better is the ^bday of one’s death than the day of one’s birth.

²Better to go to a house of mourning

Than to go to a house of feasting

Because ¹that is the ^aend of all mankind,

And the living ^bputs this in his heart.

^3aBetter is vexation than laughter,

For ^bwhen a face is sad a heart may be merry.

⁴The heart of the wise is in the house of mourning,

While the heart of fools is in the house of gladness.

⁵Better to ^alisten to the rebuke of a wise man

Than for one to listen to the song of fools.

⁶For as the crackling sound of ^athorn bushes under a pot,

So is the ^blaughter of the fool;

And this too is vanity.

⁷For ^aoppression gives a wise man over to madness,

And a ^bbribe ¹destroys the heart.

⁸Better is the ^aend of a matter than its beginning;

^bBetter is patience of spirit than haughtiness of spirit.

⁹Do not be ^1aeager in your spirit to be vexed,

For vexation rests in the bosom of fools.

¹⁰Do not say, “Why is it that the former days were better than these?”

For it is not from wisdom that you ask about this.

¹¹Wisdom along with an inheritance is good

And an ^aadvantage to those who see the sun.

¹²For ^awisdom is a ^bshadow of protection as money is a shadow of protection,

And the advantage of knowledge is that ^cwisdom preserves the lives of its masters.

¹³See the ^awork of God,

For who is ^bable to straighten what He has bent?

^14aIn the day when there is good be of good cheer,

But ^bin the day when there is evil see—

God has made the one as well as the other

So that man will ^cnot find out anything that will be after him.

¹⁵I have seen everything during my ^adays of vanity; there is ^ba righteous man who perishes in his righteousness, and there is ^ca wicked man who prolongs his life in his evildoing.

¹⁶Do not be excessively ^arighteous, and do not ^bbe overly wise. Why should you make yourself desolate?

¹⁷Do not be excessively wicked, and do not be a simpleminded fool. Why should you ^adie before your time?

¹⁸It is good that you seize one thing and also not ¹let go of the other; for the one who ^afears God comes forth with ²both of them.

^19aWisdom strengthens a wise man more than ten men with power who are in a city.

²⁰Indeed, ^athere is not a righteous man on earth who continually does good and who never sins.

²¹Also, do not give your heart to all words which are spoken, so that you will not hear your slave ^acursing you.

²²For your heart also knows that you likewise have many times cursed others.

²³I tested all this with wisdom, and I said, “I will be wise,” ^abut it was far from me.

²⁴What has been is far away and ^aexceedingly deep. ^bWho can find it?

²⁵I ^aturned my heart to know, to explore, and to seek wisdom and an explanation, and to know the wickedness of foolishness and the simpleminded folly of madness.

²⁶And I found more ^abitter than death the woman whose heart is ^bsnares and nets, whose hands are chains. ^cOne who is good before God will escape from her, but ^dthe sinner will be captured by her.

²⁷“See, I have found this,” says the Preacher, “adding one thing to another to find an explanation,

²⁸which my soul still seeks but has not found. I have found one man out of a thousand, but I have not found a ^awoman among all these.

²⁹“See, I have found only this, that ^aGod made men upright, but they have sought out many devices.”

CHAPTER 8

Keep the Command of the King

¹Who is like…