Ecclesiastes 4
1 I looked again and saw all the oppression carried out under the sun. There were the tears of the oppressed, and no one comforted them; the power was on the side of their oppressors, and no one comforted them.
2 I praised the dead, who had already died, more than the living, who are still alive.
3 Better than either of them is the one who has not yet been born, who has not seen the evil work done under the sun.
4 I saw that all labor and skill in work come from one person’s envy of another. This too is vapor, a chasing after the wind.
5 The fool folds his hands and consumes his own flesh.
6 Better one handful of quietness than two handfuls of toil and a chasing after the wind.
7 I looked again and saw something futile under the sun.
8 There is someone alone, with no one else; he has neither son nor brother. There is no end to all his labor, and his eyes are never satisfied with wealth. “For whom, then, do I labor and deprive myself of good things?” This too is vapor and a miserable task.
9 Two are better than one, because they have a good reward for their labor.
10 For if they fall, one can lift up the other. But how miserable for the one who falls with no one else to lift him up!
11 Also, if two lie down together, they keep warm. But how can one keep warm alone?
12 If someone attacks one of them, the two can stand against him. A three-strand cord is not quickly broken.
13 Better a poor but wise youth than an old and foolish king who no longer knows how to heed a warning.
14 For he came out of prison to reign, though he had been born poor in that king’s kingdom.
15 I saw all the living who walk under the sun rallying around the youth, the second one, who would take the king’s place.
16 There was no end to all the people, to all those who had come before them. Yet those who come later will not rejoice in him either. This too is vapor and a chasing after the wind.
17 Watch your step when you go to the house of God. It is better to draw near to listen than to offer the sacrifice of fools, who do not even know that they are doing wrong.
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