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 and saw all the oppressions which take place under the sun; and, behold, there were the tears of the oppressed, and they had no comforter; and from the hand of their oppressors there was violence, and they had no comforter.
2 And Y preiside more deed men than lyuynge men;
Therefore I praised the dead, who have been long ago dead, more than the living, who are yet alive.
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.
Yea, better than both of them is he who hath not yet been, who hath not seen the evil work which is done under the sun.
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.
And I saw all labor, and all success in work, that for this a man is envied by his neighbor. This also is vanity, and striving after wind.
5 A fool foldith togidere hise hondis, and etith hise fleischis,
The fool foldeth his hands together and eateth his own flesh.
6 and seith, Betere is an handful with reste, than euer either hondful with trauel and turment of soule.
Better is a hand full of quietness, than both hands full of weariness and striving after wind.
7 I bihelde and foond also another vanytee vndir the sunne;
Then I turned and saw other vanity under the sun.
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.
There is one who is alone, and no one with him; yea, he hath neither son nor brother; yet is there no end to all his labor, and his eye is not satisfied with riches. “For whom, then [[saith he]], do I labor and deprive myself of good?” This also is vanity; yea, it is an evil thing!
9 Therfor it is betere, that tweyne be togidere than oon; for thei han profite of her felouschipe.
Two are better than one, because they have a good reward for their labor.
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.
For if they fall, the one will lift his fellow up; but woe to him who is alone when he falleth, and hath not another to help him up!
11 And if tweyne slepen, thei schulen be nurschid togidere; hou schal oon be maad hoot?
Again, if two lie together, then they have heat; but how can one be warm alone?
12 And if ony man hath maistri ayens oon, tweyne ayen stonden hym; a threfolde corde is brokun of hard.
And if an enemy prevail against one, two shall withstand him; and a threefold cord is not quickly broken.
13 A pore man and wijs is betere than an eld kyng and fool, that kan not bifore se in to tyme to comynge.
Better is a child poor but wise, than a king old and foolish, who will no more be admonished.
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.
For out of prison cometh forth such a one to reign; for in his own kingdom he was born a poor man.
15 I siy alle men lyuynge that goen vndur the sunne, with the secounde yong wexynge man, that schal rise for hym.
I saw that all the living, who walk under the sun, were with the child who stood up in his stead.
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.
There was no end to all the people before whom he went forth; yet they that come afterwards shall not rejoice in him. This also is vanity, and striving after wind.
