Ecclesiastes 4

1 And I have turned, and I see all the oppressions that are done under the sun, and behold, the tear of the oppressed, and they have no comforter; and at the hand of their oppressors [is] power, and they have no comforter.

I turned myself to other things, and I saw the false accusations which are carried out under the sun, and the tears of the innocent, and that there was no one to console them; and that they were not able to withstand their violence, being destitute of all help.

2 And I am praising the dead who have already died above the living who are yet alive.

And so, I praised the dead more than the living.

3 And better than both of them [is] he who has not yet been, in that he has not seen the evil work that has been done under the sun.

And happier than both of these, I judged him to be, who has not yet been born, and who has not yet seen the evils which are done under the sun.

4 And I have seen all the labor, and all the benefit of the work, because for it a man is the envy of his neighbor. Even this [is] vanity and distress of spirit.

Again, I was contemplating all the labors of men. And I took notice that their endeavors are open to the envy of their neighbor. And so, in this, too, there is emptiness and superfluous anxiety.

5 The fool is clasping his hands, and eating his own flesh:

The foolish man folds his hands together, and he consumes his own flesh, saying:

6 “Better [is] a handful [with] quietness, than two handfuls [with] labor and distress of spirit.”

“A handful with rest is better than both hands filled with labors and with affliction of the soul.”

7 And I have turned, and I see a vain thing under the sun:

While considering this, I also discovered another vanity under the sun.

8 There is one, and there is not a second; even son or brother he has not, and there is no end to all his labor! His eye also is not satisfied with riches, and [he does not say], “For whom am I laboring and bereaving my soul of good?” This also is vanity, it is a sad travail.

He is one, and he does not have a second: no son, no brother. And yet he does not cease to labor, nor are his eyes satisfied with wealth, nor does he reflect, saying: “For whom do I labor and cheat my soul of good things?” In this, too, is emptiness and a most burdensome affliction.

9 The two [are] better than the one, in that they have a good reward by their labor.

Therefore, it is better for two to be together, than for one to be alone. For they have the advantage of their companionship.

10 For if they fall, the one raises up his companion, but woe to the one who falls and there is not a second to raise him up!

If one falls, he shall be supported by the other. Woe to one who is alone. For when he falls, he has no one to lift him up.

11 Also, if two lie down, then they have heat, but how has one heat?

And if two are sleeping, they warm one another. How can one person alone be warmed?

12 And if the one strengthens himself, the two stand against him; and the threefold cord is not quickly broken.

And if a man can prevail against one, two may withstand him, and a threefold cord is broken with difficulty.

13 Better is a poor and wise youth than an old and foolish king, who has not known to be warned anymore.

Better is a boy, poor and wise, than a king, old and foolish, who does not know to look ahead for the sake of posterity.

14 For from a house of prisoners he has come out to reign, for even in his own kingdom he has been poor.

For sometimes, one goes forth from prison and chains, to a kingdom, while another, born to kingly power, is consumed by need.

15 I have seen all the living, who are walking under the sun, with the second youth who stands in his place;

I saw all the living who are walking under the sun, and I saw the next generation, who shall rise up in their places.

16 there is no end to all the people, to all who were before them; also, the latter do not rejoice in him. Surely this also is vanity and distress of spirit.

The number of people, out of all who existed before these, is boundless. And those who will exist afterwards shall not rejoice in them. But this, too, is emptiness and an affliction of the spirit.