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The Tears of the Oppressed

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 on the side of their oppressors was power, but they had no one to comfort them. So (C)I lauded the dead who are already dead more than the living who are still living. But (D)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.

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The Existence of Oppression in the World Makes Human Existence Miserable

I looked again, and I saw all the oppression that occurs under the sun.

I saw the tears of the oppressed—
    no one comforts them!
Those who oppress them are powerful—
    no one can comfort them![a]
So I deemed the dead who have already died
    more fortunate than the living who are still alive.
But better off than both of them is the one who has not yet been born
    and has not seen the evil deeds that are done under the sun.

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Footnotes

  1. Ecclesiastes 4:1 Literally “And look! The tears of the oppressed, and there is no comforting for them, and from the hand of oppressors of them was power, and there is no comforting for them”