Ecclesiastes 4:1-6

English Standard Version

Evil Under the Sun

4 ^(A)Again I ^(B)saw all ^(C)the oppressions that are done under the sun. And behold, the tears of the oppressed, and they had ^(D)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 ^(E)thought the dead who are already dead more fortunate than the living who are still alive. ³ But ^(F)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 ^(G)vanity^[a] and a striving after wind.

⁵ The fool ^(H)folds his hands and ^(I)eats his own flesh.

^6 (J)Better is a handful of ^(K)quietness than two hands full of toil and a striving after wind.