Ecclesiastes 4

Chapter 4

1 Again, I observed all the oppression that takes place under the sun. I saw the tears of the oppressed, with no one to comfort them. The oppressors have great power, and their victims are helpless.2 So I concluded that the dead are better off than the living.

3 But most fortunate of all are those who are not yet born. For they have not seen all the evil that is done under the sun.

4 Then I observed that most people are motivated to success because they envy their neighbors. But this, too, is meaningless—like chasing the wind.
5 “Fools fold their idle hands,
leading them to ruin.”

6 And yet,
“Better to have one handful with quietness
than two handfuls with hard work
and chasing the wind.”

The Advantages of Companionship

7 I observed yet another example of something meaningless under the sun.

8 This is the case of a man who is all alone, without a child or a brother, yet who works hard to gain as much wealth as he can. But then he asks himself, “Who am I working for? Why am I giving up so much pleasure now?” It is all so meaningless and depressing.
9 Two people are better off than one, for they can help each other succeed.10 If one person falls, the other can reach out and help. But someone who falls alone is in real trouble.11 Likewise, two people lying close together can keep each other warm. But how can one be warm alone?

12 A person standing alone can be attacked and defeated, but two can stand back-to-back and conquer. Three are even better, for a triple-braided cord is not easily broken.

The Futility of Political Power

13 It is better to be a poor but wise youth than an old and foolish king who refuses all advice.14 Such a youth could rise from poverty and succeed. He might even become king, though he has been in prison.15 But then everyone rushes to the side of yet another youtht who replaces him.

16 Endless crowds stand around him,t but then another generation grows up and rejects him, too. So it is all meaningless—like chasing the wind.

ECCLESIASTES 4

1 I looked again and saw people being mistreated everywhere on earth. They were crying, but no one was there to offer comfort, and those who mistreated them were powerful. 2 I said to myself, “The dead are better off than the living.

3 But those who have never been born are better off than anyone else, because they have never seen the terrible things that happen on this earth.”

4 Then I realized that we work and do wonderful things just because we are jealous of others. This makes no more sense than chasing the wind.t

5 Fools will fold their hands
and starve to death.

6 Yet a very little food
eaten in peace
is better than twice as much
earned from overwork
and chasing the wind.t
7 Once again I saw that nothing on earth makes sense.

8 For example, some people don't have friends or family. But they are never satisfied with what they own, and they never stop working to get more. They should ask themselves, “Why am I always working to have more? Who will get what I leave behind?” What a senseless and miserable life!

It Is Better To Have //a Friend

12 Someone might be able to beat up one of you, but not both of you. As the saying goes, “A rope made from three strands of cord is hard to break.”
13 You may be poor and young, but if you are wise, you are better off than a foolish old king who won't listen to advice. 14 Even if you were not born into the royal family and have been a prisoner and poor, you can still be king. 15 I once saw everyone in the world follow a young leader who came to power after the king was gone. 16 His followers could not even be counted. But years from now, no one will praise him—this makes no more sense than chasing the wind.t