Ecclesiastes 4:1–16

Oppression, Toil, Friendlessness

4Again I looked and saw all the oppression^d that was taking place under the sun:

I saw the tears of the oppressed—

and they have no comforter;

power was on the side of their oppressors—

and they have no comforter.^e

²And I declared that the dead,^f

who had already died,

are happier than the living,

who are still alive.^g

³But better than both

is the one who has never been born,^h

who has not seen the evil

that is done under the sun.ⁱ

⁴And I saw that all toil and all achievement spring from one person’s envy of another. This too is meaningless, a chasing after the wind.^j

⁵Fools fold their hands^k

and ruin themselves.

⁶Better one handful with tranquillity

than two handfuls with toil^l

and chasing after the wind.

⁷Again I saw something meaningless under the sun:

⁸There was a man all alone;

he had neither son nor brother.

There was no end to his toil,

yet his eyes were not content^m with his wealth.

“For whom am I toiling,” he asked,

“and why am I depriving myself of enjoyment?”

This too is meaningless—

a miserable business!

⁹Two are better than one,

because they have a good return for their labor:

¹⁰If either of them falls down,

one can help the other up.

But pity anyone who falls

and has no one to help them up.

¹¹Also, if two lie down together, they will keep warm.

But how can one keep warm alone?

¹²Though one may be overpowered,

two can defend themselves.

A cord of three strands is not quickly broken.

Advancement Is Meaningless

¹³Better a poor but wise youth than an old but foolish king who no longer knows how to heed a warning. ¹⁴The youth may have come from prison to the kingship, or he may have been born in poverty within his kingdom. ¹⁵I saw that all who lived and walked under the sun followed the youth, the king’s successor. ¹⁶There was no end to all the people who were before them. But those who came later were not pleased with the successor. This too is meaningless, a chasing after the wind.