< Ecclesiastes 4 >

1 And I have turned, and I see all the oppressions that are done under the sun, and lo, the tear of the oppressed, and they have no comforter; and at the hand of their oppressors [is] power, 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 And I am praising the dead who have already died above the living who are yet alive.
So I considered those who are already dead more fortunate than the living, who are still alive.
3 And better than both of them [is] he who hath not yet been, in that he hath not seen the evil work that hath been 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 And I have seen all the labour, and all the benefit of the work, because for it a man is the envy of his neighbour. Even this [is] vanity and vexation of 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 is clasping his hands, and eating his own flesh:
The fool folds his hands and does not work, so his food is his own flesh.
6 'Better [is] a handful [with] quietness, than two handfuls [with] labour and vexation 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 And I have turned, and I see a vain thing under the sun:
Then I thought again about more futility, more vanishing vapor under the sun.
8 There is one, and there is not a second; even son or brother he hath not, and there is no end to all his labour! His eye also is not satisfied with riches, and [he saith not], 'For whom am I labouring and bereaving my soul of good?' This also is vanity, it is a sad travail.
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 The two [are] better than the one, in that they have a good reward by their labour.
Two people work better than one; together they can earn a good pay for their labor.
10 For if they fall, the one raiseth up his companion, but woe to the one who falleth and there is not a second to raise 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 down, then they have heat, but how hath one heat?
If two lie down together, they can be warm, but how can one be warm alone?
12 And if the one strengthen himself, the two stand against him; and the threefold cord is not hastily broken.
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 wise youth than an old and foolish king, who hath not known to be warned 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 from a house of prisoners he hath come out to reign, for even in his own kingdom he hath been 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 are walking under the sun, with the second youth who doth stand in his place;
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 is no end to all the people, to all who were before them; also, the latter rejoice not in him. Surely this also is vanity and vexation of 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.

< Ecclesiastes 4 >