Font Size
Ecclesiastes 4
1599 Geneva Bible
Ecclesiastes 4
1599 Geneva Bible
4 2 The innocents are oppressed. 4 Man’s labors are full of abuse and vanity. 9 Man’s society is necessary. 13 A young man poor and wise, is to be preferred to an old King that is a fool.
1 So [a]I turned and considered all the oppressions that are wrought under the sun, and behold, the tears of the oppressed, and none comforteth them, and lo, the strength is of the hand of them that oppress them, and none comforteth them.
2 Wherefore I praised the [b]dead which now are dead, above the living, which are yet alive.
3 And I count him [c]better than them both, which hath not yet been: for he hath not seen the evil works which are wrought under the sun.
4 Also I beheld all travail, and all [d]perfection of works, that this is the envy of a man against his neighbor: this also is vanity and vexation of spirit.
5 The fool foldeth his hands, and [e]eateth up his own flesh.
6 Better is an handful with quietness, than two handfuls with labor and vexation of spirit.
7 Again I returned, and saw vanity under the sun.
8 There is one alone, and there is not a second, which hath neither son nor brother, yet is there none end of all his travail, neither can his eye be satisfied with riches: neither doth he think, For whom do I travail and defraud my soul of pleasures? this also is vanity, this is an evil travail.
9 [f]Two are better wages for their labor.
10 For if they fall, the one will lift up his fellow: but woe unto him that is alone: for he falleth, and there is not a second to lift him up.
11 Also if two sleep together, then shall they have heat: but to one how should there be heat?
12 And if one overcome him, two shall stand against him: and a threefold [g]cord is not easily broken.
13 Better is a poor and wise child, than an old and foolish King, which will no more be admonished.
14 For out of the [h]prison he cometh forth to reign: when as he that is [i]born in his kingdom, is made poor.
15 I beheld all the living, which walk under the Sun [j]with the second child, which shall stand up in his place.
16 There is none [k]end of all the people, nor of all that were before them, and they that come after, shall not rejoice in him: surely this is also vanity and vexation of spirit.
17 Take heed to thine [l]foot when thou enterest into the house of God, and be more near to hear than to give the sacrifice of [m]fools: for they know not that they do evil.
Footnotes
- Ecclesiastes 4:1 He maketh here another discourse with himself concerning the tyranny of them that oppressed the poor.
- Ecclesiastes 4:2 Because they are no more subject to these oppressions.
- Ecclesiastes 4:3 He speaketh according to the judgment of the flesh, which cannot abide to feel or see troubles.
- Ecclesiastes 4:4 The more perfect that the work is, the more it is envied of the wicked.
- Ecclesiastes 4:5 For idleness he is compelled to destroy himself.
- Ecclesiastes 4:9 Forasmuch as when man is alone, he can neither help himself nor others, he showeth that men ought to live in mutual society to the intent they may be profitable one to another, and that their things may increase.
- Ecclesiastes 4:12 By this proverb he declareth how necessary it is, that men should live in society.
- Ecclesiastes 4:14 That is, from a poor and base estate, or out of trouble and prison, as Joseph did, Gen. 41:14.
- Ecclesiastes 4:14 Meaning, that is born a King.
- Ecclesiastes 4:15 Which follow and flatter the King’s son, or him that shall succeed, to enter into credit with them in hope of gain.
- Ecclesiastes 4:16 They never cease by all means to creep into favor, but when they obtain not, their greedy desires, they think themselves abused, as others have been in time past, and so care no more for him.
- Ecclesiastes 4:17 That is, with what affection thou comest to hear the word of God.
- Ecclesiastes 4:17 Meaning, of the wicked, which think to please God with common uses, and have neither faith nor repentance.
Ecclesiastes 4
New International Version
Ecclesiastes 4
New International Version
Oppression, Toil, Friendlessness
4 Again I looked and saw all the oppression(A) that was taking place under the sun:
I saw the tears of the oppressed—
and they have no comforter;
power was on the side of their oppressors—
and they have no comforter.(B)
2 And I declared that the dead,(C)
who had already died,
are happier than the living,
who are still alive.(D)
3 But better than both
is the one who has never been born,(E)
who has not seen the evil
that is done under the sun.(F)
4 And I saw that all toil and all achievement spring from one person’s envy of another. This too is meaningless, a chasing after the wind.(G)
5 Fools fold their hands(H)
and ruin themselves.
6 Better one handful with tranquillity
than two handfuls with toil(I)
and chasing after the wind.
7 Again I saw something meaningless under the sun:
8 There was a man all alone;
he had neither son nor brother.
There was no end to his toil,
yet his eyes were not content(J) with his wealth.
“For whom am I toiling,” he asked,
“and why am I depriving myself of enjoyment?”
This too is meaningless—
a miserable business!
9 Two are better than one,
because they have a good return for their labor:
10 If either of them falls down,
one can help the other up.
But pity anyone who falls
and has no one to help them up.
11 Also, if two lie down together, they will keep warm.
But how can one keep warm alone?
12 Though one may be overpowered,
two can defend themselves.
A cord of three strands is not quickly broken.
Advancement Is Meaningless
13 Better a poor but wise youth than an old but foolish king who no longer knows how to heed a warning. 14 The youth may have come from prison to the kingship, or he may have been born in poverty within his kingdom. 15 I saw that all who lived and walked under the sun followed the youth, the king’s successor. 16 There was no end to all the people who were before them. But those who came later were not pleased with the successor. This too is meaningless, a chasing after the wind.
1599 Geneva Bible (GNV) 
Geneva Bible, 1599 Edition. Published by Tolle Lege Press. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, without written permission from the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations in articles, reviews, and broadcasts.
New International Version (NIV) 
Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
NIV Reverse Interlinear Bible: English to Hebrew and English to Greek. Copyright © 2019 by Zondervan.