Ecclesiastes 4
1 I turnede me to othere thingis, and Y siy fals chalengis, that ben don vndur the sunne, and the teeris of innocentis, and no man coumfortour; and that thei forsakun of the help of alle men, moun not ayenstonde the violence of hem.
Then I turned to consider all the ways people oppress others here on earth. Look at the tears of the oppressed—there's no one to comfort them! Powerful people oppress them, and there's no one to comfort them!
2 And Y preiside more deed men than lyuynge men;
I congratulated those who were already dead, for the dead are better off than those who are still alive and being oppressed.
3 and Y demyde hym, that was not borun yit, and siy not the yuels that ben don vndur the sunne, to be blisfulere than euer eithir.
But best of all are those who have never existed—they haven't seen the evil things people do to each other here on earth.
4 Eft Y bihelde alle the trauelis of men, and bisynesses; and Y perseyuede that tho ben opyn to the enuye of neiybore; and therfor in this is vanyte, and superflu bisynesse.
I observed that every skill in work comes from competition with others. Once again this is hard to understand, like trying to hold on to the elusive wind.
5 A fool foldith togidere hise hondis, and etith hise fleischis,
Fools fold their arms and do nothing—so in the end they're all used up.
6 and seith, Betere is an handful with reste, than euer either hondful with trauel and turment of soule.
It's better to earn a little without stress than a lot with too much stress and chasing after the wind.
7 I bihelde and foond also another vanytee vndir the sunne;
Then I turned to consider something else here on earth that is also frustratingly hard to understand.
8 oon is, and he hath not a secounde; not a sone, not a brother; and netheles he ceesith not for to trauele, nether hise iyen ben fillid with richessis; nether he bithenkith, and seith, To whom trauele Y, and disseyue my soule in goodis? In this also is vanyte, and the worste turment.
What about someone who has no family to help him, no brother or son, who works all the time, but isn't satisfied with the money he makes. “Who am I working for?” he asks himself. “Why am I preventing myself from enjoying life?” Such a situation is hard to explain—it's an evil business!
9 Therfor it is betere, that tweyne be togidere than oon; for thei han profite of her felouschipe.
Two are better than one, for they can help each other in their work.
10 If oon fallith doun, he schal be vndurset of the tothere; wo to hym that is aloone, for whanne he fallith, he hath noon reisynge him.
If one of them falls down, the other can help them up, but how sad it is for someone who falls down and doesn't have anyone to help them up.
11 And if tweyne slepen, thei schulen be nurschid togidere; hou schal oon be maad hoot?
In the same way, if two people lie down together, they keep each other warm, but you can't keep yourself warm if you're alone.
12 And if ony man hath maistri ayens oon, tweyne ayen stonden hym; a threfolde corde is brokun of hard.
Someone fighting against one other person may win, but not if they are fighting against two. A cord made of three strands can't be torn apart quickly.
13 A pore man and wijs is betere than an eld kyng and fool, that kan not bifore se in to tyme to comynge.
A poor young person who's wise is better than an old and foolish king who no longer accepts advice.
14 For sum tyme a man goith out bothe fro prysoun and chaynes to a rewme; and anothir borun in to a rewme is wastid bi nedynesse.
He may even come out of prison to reign over his kingdom, even though he was born poor.
15 I siy alle men lyuynge that goen vndur the sunne, with the secounde yong wexynge man, that schal rise for hym.
I observed everyone here on earth following the youth who takes his place.
16 The noumbre of puple, of alle that weren bifore hym, is greet with outen mesure, and thei that schulen come aftirward, schulen not be glad in hym; but also this is vanyte and turment of the spirit.
He is surrounded by crowds of supporters, but the next generation isn't happy with him. This also illustrates the passing nature of life whose meaning is elusive, like pursuing the wind for understanding.
