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Ecclesiastes 4
New American Bible (Revised Edition)
Ecclesiastes 4
New American Bible (Revised Edition)
Chapter 4
Vanity of Toil. 1 Again I saw all the oppressions that take place under the sun: the tears of the victims with none to comfort[a] them! From the hand of their oppressors comes violence, and there is none to comfort them!(A) 2 And those now dead, I declared more fortunate in death than are the living to be still alive.(B) 3 And better off than both is the yet unborn, who has not seen the wicked work that is done under the sun. 4 Then I saw that all toil and skillful work is the rivalry of one person with another. This also is vanity and a chase after wind.
5 “Fools fold their arms
and consume their own flesh”—[b]
6 Better is one handful with tranquility
than two with toil and a chase after wind!
Companions and Successors. 7 Again I saw this vanity under the sun: 8 those all alone with no companion, with neither child nor sibling—with no end to all their toil, and no satisfaction from riches. For whom do I toil and deprive myself of good things? This also is vanity and a bad business. 9 Two are better than one: They get a good wage for their toil. 10 If the one falls, the other will help the fallen one. But woe to the solitary person! If that one should fall, there is no other to help. 11 So also, if two sleep together, they keep each other warm. How can one alone keep warm? 12 Where one alone may be overcome, two together can resist. A three-ply cord[c] is not easily broken.
13 [d]Better is a poor but wise youth than an old but foolish king who no longer knows caution; 14 for from a prison house he came forth to reign; despite his kingship he was born poor. 15 I saw all the living, those who move about under the sun, with the second youth who will succeed him.[e] 16 There is no end to all this people, to all who were before them; yet the later generations will not have joy in him. This also is vanity and a chase after wind.
Vanity of Many Words. 17 (C)Guard your step when you go to the house of God.[f] Draw near for obedience, rather than for the fools’ offering of sacrifice; for they know not how to keep from doing evil.
Footnotes
- 4:1 Oppressions…victims…none to comfort: the author obviously feels deeply about the plight of the oppressed, but he seems to feel powerless to do anything. The repetition of “none to comfort” is purposeful, and emphatic.
- 4:5 Consume their own flesh: an enigmatic statement. In the context of vv. 4 and 6 it seems to warn that those who refuse to work for the necessities of life will suffer hunger and impair their bodily health. But the verse could also be intended for the industrious: Even the lazy may manage to have “their own flesh,” that is, have sufficient food to eat.
- 4:12 A three-ply cord: an ancient proverb known centuries before biblical times. The progression (“two together…three-ply”) seems to imply, “If two are good, three are even better.”
- 4:13–16 This passage deals with kingship and succession, but is obscure.
- 4:15 The king is no sooner dead than the people transfer their allegiance to his successor.
- 4:17 The house of God: the Temple in Jerusalem. Obedience…sacrifice: the Temple was the place not only for sacrifice but also for instruction in the Law. Sacrifice without obedience was unacceptable; cf. 1 Sm 15:22; Hos 6:6.
Ecclesiastes 4
Revised Standard Version Catholic Edition
Ecclesiastes 4
Revised Standard Version Catholic Edition
4 Again I saw all the oppressions that are practiced under the sun. And behold, the tears of the oppressed, and they had no one to comfort them! On the side of their oppressors there was power, and there was no one to comfort them. 2 And I thought the dead who are already dead more fortunate than the living who are still alive; 3 but better than both is he who has not yet been, and has not seen the evil deeds that are done under the sun.
4 Then I saw that all toil and all skill in work come from a man’s envy of his neighbor. This also is vanity and a striving after wind.
5 The fool folds his hands, and eats his own flesh.
6 Better is a handful of quietness than two hands full of toil and a striving after wind.
7 Again, I saw vanity under the sun: 8 a person who has no one, either son or brother, yet there is no end to all his toil, and his eyes are never satisfied with riches, so that he never asks, “For whom am I toiling and depriving myself of pleasure?” This also is vanity and an unhappy business.
The Value of a Friend
9 Two are better than one, because they have a good reward for their toil. 10 For if they fall, one will lift up his fellow; but woe to him who is alone when he falls and has not another to lift him up. 11 Again, if two lie together, they are warm; but how can one be warm alone? 12 And though a man might prevail against one who is alone, two will withstand him. A threefold cord is not quickly broken.
13 Better is a poor and wise youth than an old and foolish king, who will no longer take advice, 14 even though he had gone from prison to the throne or in his own kingdom had been born poor. 15 I saw all the living who move about under the sun, as well as that[a] youth, who was to stand in his place; 16 there was no end of all the people; he was over all of them. Yet those who come later will not rejoice in him. Surely this also is vanity and a striving after wind.
Footnotes
- Ecclesiastes 4:15 Heb the second
Ecclesiastes 4
Good News Translation
Ecclesiastes 4
Good News Translation
4 Then I looked again at all the injustice that goes on in this world. The oppressed were crying, and no one would help them. No one would help them, because their oppressors had power on their side. 2 I envy those who are dead and gone; they are better off than those who are still alive. 3 But better off than either are those who have never been born, who have never seen the injustice that goes on in this world.
4 I have also learned why people work so hard to succeed: it is because they envy the things their neighbors have. But it is useless. It is like chasing the wind. 5 They say that we would be fools to fold our hands and let ourselves starve to death. 6 Maybe so, but it is better to have only a little, with peace of mind, than be busy all the time with both hands, trying to catch the wind.
7 I have noticed something else in life that is useless. 8 Here is someone who lives alone. He has no son, no brother, yet he is always working, never satisfied with the wealth he has. For whom is he working so hard and denying himself any pleasure? This is useless, too—and a miserable way to live.
9 Two are better off than one, because together they can work more effectively. 10 If one of them falls down, the other can help him up. But if someone is alone and falls, it's just too bad, because there is no one to help him. 11 If it is cold, two can sleep together and stay warm, but how can you keep warm by yourself 12 Two people can resist an attack that would defeat one person alone. A rope made of three cords is hard to break.
13-14 Someone may rise from poverty to become king of his country, or go from prison to the throne, but if in his old age he is too foolish to take advice, he is not as well off as a young man who is poor but intelligent. 15 I thought about all the people who live in this world, and I realized that somewhere among them there is a young man who will take the king's place. 16 There may be no limit to the number of people a king rules; when he is gone, no one will be grateful for what he has done. It is useless. It is like chasing the wind.
Ecclesiastes 4
New American Standard Bible
Ecclesiastes 4
New American Standard Bible
The Evils of Oppression
4 Then I looked again at all the acts of (A)oppression which were being done under the sun. And behold, I saw the tears of the oppressed and that they had (B)no one to comfort them; and power was on the side of their oppressors, but they had no one to comfort them. 2 So (C)I congratulated the dead who are already dead, more than the living who are still living. 3 But (D)better off than both of them is the one who has never existed, who has never seen the evil activity that is done under the sun.
4 I have seen that every labor and every (E)skill which is done is the result of rivalry between a person and his neighbor. This too is (F)futility and striving after wind. 5 The fool (G)folds his hands and (H)consumes his own flesh. 6 One hand full of rest is (I)better than two fists full of labor and striving after wind.
7 Then I looked again at futility under the sun. 8 There was a man without a [a]dependent, having neither a son nor a brother, yet there was no end to all his labor. Indeed, (J)his eyes were not satisfied with riches, and he never asked, “And (K)for whom do I labor and deprive myself of pleasure?” This too is futility, and it is an (L)unhappy task.
9 Two are better than one because they have a good return for their labor; 10 for if [b]either of them falls, the one will lift up his companion. But woe to the one who falls when there is not [c]another to lift him up! 11 Furthermore, if two lie down together they [d]keep warm, but (M)how can one be warm alone? 12 And if [e]one can overpower him who is alone, two can resist him. A cord of three strands is not quickly torn apart.
13 A (N)poor yet wise youth is better than an old and foolish king who no longer knows how to receive [f]instruction— 14 for he has come (O)out of prison to become king, even though he was born poor in his kingdom. 15 I have seen all those living under the sun move to the side of the second youth who [g]replaces him. 16 There is no end to all the people, to all who were before them. Even the ones who will come later will not be happy with him; for this too is (P)futility and striving after wind.
Footnotes
- Ecclesiastes 4:8 Lit second
- Ecclesiastes 4:10 Lit they fall
- Ecclesiastes 4:10 Lit a second
- Ecclesiastes 4:11 Lit have warmth
- Ecclesiastes 4:12 Lit he
- Ecclesiastes 4:13 Or warning
- Ecclesiastes 4:15 Lit stands in his place
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.
New American Bible (Revised Edition) (NABRE)
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Revised Standard Version Catholic Edition (RSVCE)
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Good News Translation (GNT) 
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New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved.
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