Ecclesiastes 4
1 I thought some more about all the suffering that people are caused to experience on the earth [MTY]. I saw the tears of people who were (oppressed/treated cruelly) and who had no one to comfort/encourage them. Those who oppressed them had power, and there was absolutely no one who was able to comfort those who were being oppressed.
Again I looked, and I considered all the oppression taking place under the sun. I saw the tears of the oppressed, and they had no comforter; the power lay in the hands of their oppressors, and there was no comforter.
2 [So] I thought that those who are already dead are more fortunate than those who are still alive.
So I admired the dead, who had already died, above the living, who are still alive.
3 And those who have not been born yet are more fortunate than those who are still alive and those who have died, [because] those who have not been born have not seen all the evil things that are done on the earth.
But better than both is he who has not yet existed, who has not seen the evil that is done under the sun.
4 I also thought about all the hard work that people do and the skills that they have. And I thought about how they compete with each other because they are envious of others, [and I concluded that] this also is something that is not accomplishing anything useful, [like] chasing the wind.
I saw that all labor and success spring from a man’s envy of his neighbor. This too is futile and a pursuit of the wind.
5 Foolish people [refuse to work]; they sit idly, with their hands folded, [and do not work]. [So] they ruin themselves.
The fool folds his hands and consumes his own flesh.
6 [So I say], “It is better to be content with not having much money, than to work very hard and try to get a lot of money, which is [as useless as] chasing the wind.”
Better one handful with tranquility than two handfuls with toil and pursuit of the wind.
7 I thought about something else that happens on the earth [MTY] that seems senseless.
Again, I saw futility under the sun.
8 There are men who live alone; they do not have a wife or children or any brothers living with them; every day they work [very hard], without stopping, to get a lot of money, but they are never satisfied with the things that they have. They never ask [themselves], “Why am I working very hard to earn more money? Why am I not doing things that would cause me to be happy?” What they do also seems senseless.
There is a man all alone, without even a son or brother. And though there is no end to his labor, his eyes are still not content with his wealth: “For whom do I toil and bereave my soul of enjoyment?” This too is futile—a miserable task.
9 Having someone [work] with you is better than being by yourself [all the time]. If you have a friend, he can help you to do your work.
Two are better than one, because they have a good return for their labor.
10 If you fall down, he can help you get up again. But if you fall down when you are alone, it will be difficult for you, because there will be no one to help you stand up.
For if one falls down, his companion can lift him up; but pity the one who falls without another to help him up!
11 Similarly, if two people sleep together, they can keep each other warm. But someone who sleeps alone will certainly not [RHQ] be warm.
Again, if two lie down together, they will keep warm; but how can one keep warm alone?
12 Someone who is alone can easily be attacked and defeated by another person, but two people can help each other and (resist/defend themselves against) someone who attacks them. [Three people can defend themselves even more easily], [like] a rope that is made from three cords is harder to break [than a rope made from two cords].
And though one may be overpowered, two can resist. Moreover, a cord of three strands is not quickly broken.
13 A young man who is poor but wise is a better person than a foolish old king who refuses to pay attention when people try to give him good advice.
Better is a poor but wise youth than an old but foolish king who no longer knows how to take a warning.
14 It is possible for a young man like that to succeed and some day become king, even if his parents were poor or even if he was in prison some of the time.
For the youth has come from the prison to the kingship, though he was born poor in his own kingdom.
15 But then some other young man becomes king, and everyone (starts to support/is pleased with) him.
I saw that all who lived and walked under the sun followed this second one, the youth who succeeded the king.
16 Large crowds of people crowd around him. But after a few years, they will reject him, [too]. So it is all senseless, [like] chasing after the wind.
There is no limit to all the people who were before them. Yet the successor will not be celebrated by those who come even later. This too is futile and a pursuit of the wind.
