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Ecclesiastes 4:2-4
New King James Version
Ecclesiastes 4:2-4
New King James Version
2 (A)Therefore I praised the dead who were already dead,
More than the living who are still alive.
3 (B)Yet, better than both is he who has never existed,
Who has not seen the evil work that is done under the sun.
The Vanity of Selfish Toil
4 Again, I saw that for all toil and every skillful work a man is envied by his neighbor. This also is vanity and grasping for the wind.
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Ecclesiastes 4:2-4
New International Version
Ecclesiastes 4:2-4
New International Version
2 And I declared that the dead,(A)
who had already died,
are happier than the living,
who are still alive.(B)
3 But better than both
is the one who has never been born,(C)
who has not seen the evil
that is done under the sun.(D)
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.(E)
Ecclesiastes 4:2-4
Legacy Standard Bible
Ecclesiastes 4:2-4
Legacy Standard Bible
2 So (A)I lauded the dead who are already dead more than the living who are still living. 3 But (B)better off than both of them is the one who never has been, who has never seen the evil work that is done under the sun.
4 I have seen that every labor and every (C)success of the work is the result of jealousy between a man and his neighbor. This too is [a](D)vanity and striving after wind.
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- Ecclesiastes 4:4 Or futility, so in ch
Ecclesiastes 4:2-4
English Standard Version
Ecclesiastes 4:2-4
English Standard Version
2 And I (A)thought the dead who are already dead more fortunate than the living who are still alive. 3 But (B)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 (C)vanity[a] and a striving after wind.
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- Ecclesiastes 4:4 The Hebrew term hebel can refer to a “vapor” or “mere breath”; also verses 7, 8, 16 (see note on 1:2)
New King James Version (NKJV) 
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
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.
Legacy Standard Bible (LSB)
Legacy Standard Bible Copyright ©2021 by The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved. Managed in partnership with Three Sixteen Publishing Inc. LSBible.org For Permission to Quote Information visit https://www.LSBible.org.
English Standard Version (ESV) 
The ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. ESV Text Edition: 2025.