Ecclesiastes 4–5

¹And I have turned, and I see all the oppressions that are done under the sun, and lo, the tear of the oppressed, and they have no comforter; and at the hand of their oppressors is power, and they have no comforter. ²And I am praising the dead who have already died above the living who are yet alive. ³And better than both of them is he who hath not yet been, in that he hath not seen the evil work that hath been done under the sun.

⁴And I have seen all the labour, and all the benefit of the work, because for it a man is the envy of his neighbour. Even this is vanity and vexation of spirit. ⁵The fool is clasping his hands, and eating his own flesh: ⁶‘Better is a handful with quietness, than two handfuls with labour and vexation of spirit.’

⁷And I have turned, and I see a vain thing under the sun: ⁸There is one, and there is not a second; even son or brother he hath not, and there is no end to all his labour! His eye also is not satisfied with riches, and he saith not, ‘For whom am I labouring and bereaving my soul of good?’ This also is vanity, it is a sad travail. ⁹The two are better than the one, in that they have a good reward by their labour. ¹⁰For if they fall, the one raiseth up his companion, but woe to the one who falleth and there is not a second to raise him up! ¹¹Also, if two lie down, then they have heat, but how hath one heat? ¹²And if the one strengthen himself, the two stand against him; and the threefold cord is not hastily broken.

¹³Better is a poor and wise youth than an old and foolish king, who hath not known to be warned any more. ¹⁴For from a house of prisoners he hath come out to reign, for even in his own kingdom he hath been poor. ¹⁵I have seen all the living, who are walking under the sun, with the second youth who doth stand in his place; ¹⁶there is no end to all the people, to all who were before them; also, the latter rejoice not in him. Surely this also is vanity and vexation of spirit.

Chapter 5

¹Keep thy feet when thou goest unto a house of God, and draw near to hear rather than to give of fools the sacrifice, for they do not know they do evil. ²Cause not thy mouth to hasten, and let not thy heart hasten to bring out a word before God, for God is in the heavens, and thou on the earth, therefore let thy words be few. ³For the dream hath come by abundance of business, and the voice of a fool by abundance of words.

⁴When thou vowest a vow to God, delay not to complete it, for there is no pleasure in fools; that which thou vowest—complete. ⁵Better that thou do not vow, than that thou dost vow and dost not complete. ⁶Suffer not thy mouth to cause thy flesh to sin, nor say before the messenger, that ‘it is an error,’ why is God wroth because of thy voice, and hath destroyed the work of thy hands? ⁷For, in the abundance of dreams both vanities and words abound; but fear thou God. ⁸If oppression of the poor, and violent taking away of judgment and righteousness thou seest in a province, do not marvel at the matter, for a higher than the high is observing, and high ones are over them.

⁹And the abundance of a land is for all. A king for a field is served. ¹⁰Whoso is loving silver is not satisfied with silver, nor he who is in love with stores with increase. Even this is vanity. ¹¹In the multiplying of good have its consumers been multiplied, and what benefit is to its possessor except the sight of his eyes? ¹²Sweet is the sleep of the labourer whether he eat little or much; and the sufficiency of the wealthy is not suffering him to sleep. ¹³There is a painful evil I have seen under the sun: wealth kept for its possessor, for his evil. ¹⁴And that wealth hath been lost in an evil business, and he hath begotten a son and there is nothing in his hand! ¹⁵As he came out from the belly of his mother, naked he turneth back to go as he came, and he taketh not away anything of his labour, that doth go in his hand. ¹⁶And this also is a painful evil, just as he came, so he goeth, and what advantage is to him who laboureth for wind? ¹⁷Also all his days in darkness he consumeth, and sadness, and wrath, and sickness abound.

¹⁸Lo, that which I have seen: It is good, because beautiful, to eat, and to drink, and to see good in all one’s labour that he laboureth at under the sun, the number of the days of his life that God hath given to him, for it is his portion. ¹⁹Every man also to whom God hath given wealth and riches, and hath given him power to eat of it, and to accept his portion, and to rejoice in his labour, this is a gift of God. ²⁰For he doth not much remember the days of his life, for God is answering through the joy of his heart.

Chapter 6