Ecclesiastes 4

1 And I turned about, and beheld all the oppressed that are made so under the sun: and, behold, there are the tears of the oppressed, and they have no comforter; and from the hand of their oppressors they suffer violence; and they have no comforter.

Once again I thought about all the oppression that is done under the sun. And behold, the tears of oppressed people, and they had no one to comfort them! Power was in the hand of their oppressors, and there was no one to comfort them!

2 Thereupon praised I the dead that are already dead, more than the living who are still alive;

So I considered those who are already dead more fortunate than the living, who are still alive.

3 And as happier than both of them, him who hath not yet come into being, who hath not seen the evil-doing that is done under the sun.—

However, more fortunate than both of them is the one who has not yet lived, the one who has not seen any of the evil acts that are done under the sun.

4 Again, I beheld all the toil, and all the energy in doing, that it is [from] the envy of one man of his neighbor. Also this is vanity and a torture of the spirit.

Then I saw that every act of labor and every skillful work became the envy of one's neighbor. This also is vapor and an attempt to shepherd the wind.

5 The fool foldeth his hands together, and eateth his own flesh.

The fool folds his hands and does not work, so his food is his own flesh.

6 Better is a handful of quiet, than both the hands full of toil and torture of spirit.

But better is a handful of profit with quiet work than two handfuls with the work that tries to shepherd the wind.

7 Then I turned about, and I saw a vanity under the sun.

Then I thought again about more futility, more vanishing vapor under the sun.

8 There is one alone, and he hath not a companion; yea, he hath neither son nor brother: yet is there no end to all his toil; his eye also is not satisfied with riches. Yet for whom do I toil, and deprive my soul of good? Also this is vanity, yea, it is a bad employment.

There is the kind of man who is alone. He does not have anyone, no son or brother. There is no end to all his work, and his eyes are not satisfied with gaining wealth. He wonders, “For whom am I toiling and depriving myself of pleasure?” This also is vapor, a bad situation.

9 Two are better than one; because they will have a good reward for their toil.

Two people work better than one; together they can earn a good pay for their labor.

10 For if they fall, the one will lift up his fellow; but woe to the single one that falleth; for he hath no companion to lift him up.

For if one falls, the other can lift up his friend. However, sorrow follows the one who is alone when he falls if there is no one to lift him up.

11 Also, if two lie together, then will they become warm; but how can one person alone become warm?

If two lie down together, they can be warm, but how can one be warm alone?

12 And if a man could overpower him, the single one, two would stand up against him: and a threefold cord cannot quickly be torn asunder.

One man alone can be overpowered, but two can withstand an attack, and a three-strand rope is not quickly broken.

13 Better is a poor and a wise youth than an old and foolish king, who knoweth not how to be admonished any more.

It is better to be a poor but wise youth than an old and foolish king who no longer knows how to listen to warnings.

14 For out of the prison cometh the one to reign: whereas also in his kingdom the other becometh poor.

This is true even if the young man becomes king from prison, or even if he was born poor in his kingdom.

15 I have seen all the living who walk under the sun, being with the second child that is to stand up in his stead.

I saw everyone who was alive and was walking around under the sun, along with a youth who was to rise up to take his place.

16 There was no end to all the people, [belonging] to all that have been before them: they also that come after will not rejoice in him. Surely this also is vanity and a torture of the spirit.—

There is no end to all the people who want to obey the new king, but later many of them will no longer praise him. Surely this situation is vapor and an attempt to shepherd the wind.