Ecclesiastes 4:1-8
New King James Version
The Uselessness of Selfish Toil
4 Then I returned and considered all the (A)oppression that is done under the sun:
And look! The tears of the oppressed,
But they have no comforter—
[a]On the side of their oppressors there is power,
But they have no comforter.
2 (B)Therefore I praised the dead who were already dead,
More than the living who are still alive.
3 (C)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.
5 (D)The fool folds his hands
And consumes his own flesh.
6 (E)Better a handful with quietness
Than both hands full, together with toil and grasping for the wind.
7 Then I returned, and I saw vanity under the sun:
8 There is one alone, without [b]companion:
He has neither son nor brother.
Yet there is no end to all his labors,
Nor is his (F)eye satisfied with riches.
But (G)he never asks,
“For whom do I toil and deprive myself of (H)good?”
This also is vanity and a [c]grave misfortune.
Footnotes
- Ecclesiastes 4:1 Lit. At the hand
- Ecclesiastes 4:8 Lit. a second
- Ecclesiastes 4:8 Lit. evil task
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Bible Gateway Recommends
