Ecclesiastes Chapter 4

2 I know that, whatsoever God doeth, it shall be for ever: nothing can be put to it, nor anything taken from it; and God hath done it, that men should fear before him.

3 That which is hath been long ago; and that which is to be hath long ago been: and God seeketh again that which is passed away.

4 And moreover I saw under the sun, in the place of justice, that wickedness was there; and in the place of righteousness, that wickedness was there.

5 I said in my heart, God will judge the righteous and the wicked; for there is a time there for every purpose and for every work.

6 I said in my heart,

7 It is because of the sons of men, that God may prove them, and that they may see that they themselves are

8 but as beasts.

9 For that which befalleth the sons of men befalleth beasts; even one thing befalleth them: as the one dieth, so dieth the other; yea, they have all one breath; and man hath no preeminence above the beasts: for all is vanity.

10 All go unto one place; all are of the dust, and all turn to dust again.

11 Who knoweth the spirit of man, whether it goeth upward, and the spirit of the beast, whether it goeth downward to the earth?

12 Wherefore I saw that there is nothing better, than that a man should rejoice in his works; for that is his portion: for who shall bring him

13 back to see what shall be after him?

14 Then I returned and saw all the oppressions that are done under the sun: and, behold, the tears of such as were oppressed, and they had no comforter; and on the side of their oppressors there was power; but they had no comforter.

15 Wherefore I praised the dead that have been long dead more than the living that are yet alive;

16 yea, better than them both

darby (darby) - eBible.org Darby 1890 plaintext

1 And I returned and saw all the oppressions that are done under the sun: and behold, the tears of the oppressed, and they had no comforter; and on the side of their oppressors was power, and they had no comforter.

2 Then I praised the dead who are already dead more than the living who are yet alive;

3 and more fortunate than both is he who hath not yet been, who hath not seen the evil work that is done under the sun.

4 And I saw all labour, and all success of work, that it is man's jealousy of his neighbour. This also is vanity and pursuit of the wind.

5 The fool foldeth his hands together, and eateth his own flesh.

6 Better is a handful with quietness, than both hands full with labour and pursuit of the wind.

7 And I returned and saw vanity under the sun.

8 There is one [alone] and without a second; also he hath neither son nor brother: yet is there no end of all his labour, neither is his eye satisfied with riches, and [he saith not], For whom then am I labouring, and depriving my soul of good? This also is vanity and a grievous occupation.

9 Two are better than one; because they have a good reward for their labour.

10 For if they fall, the one will lift up his fellow; but woe to him that is alone when he falleth, and who hath not another to lift him up!

11 Again, if two lie together, then they have warmth; but how can one alone be warm?

12 And if a [man] overpower the one, the two shall withstand him; and a threefold cord is not quickly broken.

13 Better is a poor but wise youth than an old and foolish king, who knoweth no more how to be admonished.

14 For out of the prison-house he came forth to reign, although he was born poor in his kingdom.

15 I saw all the living that walk under the sun, with the child, the second, that should stand up in his stead.

16 [There is] no end of all the people, of all that stood before them; those however that come after shall not rejoice in him. Surely this also is vanity and a striving after the wind.

lxxbrent (lxxbrent) - Septuagint (Brenton 1851) eBible USFM

1 So I returned, and saw all the oppressions that were done under the sun: and behold the tear of the oppressed, and they had no comforter; and on the side of them that oppressed them was power; but they had no comforter:

2 and I praised all the dead that had already died more than the living, as many as are alive until now.

3 Better also than both these is he who has not yet been, who has not seen all the evil work that is done under the sun.

4 And I saw all labour, and all the diligent work, that this is a man's envy from his neighbour. This is also vanity and waywardness of spirit.

5 The fool folds his hands together, and eats his own flesh.

6 Better is a handful of rest than two handfuls of trouble and waywardness of spirit.

7 So I returned, and saw vanity under the sun.

8 There is one [alone], and there is not a second; yea, he has neither son nor brother: yet there is no end to all his labour; neither is his eye satisfied with wealth; and for whom do I labour, and deprive my soul of good? this is also vanity, and an evil trouble.

9 Two [are] better than one, [seeing] they have a good reward for their labour.

10 For if they fall, the one will lift up his fellow: but woe to him that is alone when he falls, and there is not a second to lift him up.

11 Also if two should lie together, they also get heat: but how shall one be warmed [alone]?

12 And if one should prevail against [him], the two shall withstand him; and a threefold cord shall not be quickly broken.

13 Better is a poor and wise child than an old and foolish king, who knows not how to take heed any longer.

14 For he shall come forth out of the house of the prisoners to reign, because [he] also that was in his kingdom has become poor.

15 I beheld all the living who were walking under the sun, with the second youth who shall stand up in each one's place.

16 There is no end to all the people, to all who were before them: and the last shall not rejoice in him: for this also is vanity and waywardness of spirit.

17 Keep thy foot, whensoever thou goest to the house of God; and [when thou art] near to hear, let thy sacrifice [be] better than the gift of fools: for they know not that they are doing evil.

vul1914 (vul1914) - Vulgate 1914 UTF-8 (sacredbible.org)

1 Verti me ad alia, et vidi calumnias, quæ sub sole geruntur, et lacrymas innocentium, et neminem consolatorem: nec posse resistere eorum violentiæ, cunctorum auxilio destitutos.

2 Et laudavi magis mortuos, quam viventes:

3 et feliciorem utroque iudicavi, qui necdum natus est, nec vidit mala quæ sub sole fiunt.

4 Rursum contemplatus sum omnes labores hominum, et industrias animadverti patere invidiæ proximi: et in hoc ergo vanitas, et cura superflua est.

5 Stultus complicat manus suas, et comedit carnes suas, dicens:

6 Melior est pugillus cum requie, quam plena utraque manus cum labore, et afflictione animi.

7 Considerans reperi et aliam vanitatem sub sole:

8 unus est, et secundum non habet, non filium, non fratrem, et tamen laborare non cessat, nec satiantur oculi eius divitiis: nec recogitat, dicens: Cui laboro, et fraudo animam meam bonis? in hoc quoque vanitas est, et afflictio pessima.

9 Melius est ergo duos esse simul, quam unum: habent enim emolumentum societatis suæ:

10 si unus ceciderit, ab altero fulcietur. væ soli: quia cum ceciderit, non habet sublevantem se.

11 Et si dormierint duo, fovebuntur mutuo: unus quomodo calefiet?

12 Et si quispiam prævaluerit contra unum, duo resistunt ei: funiculus triplex difficile rumpitur.

13 Melior est puer pauper et sapiens, rege sene et stulto, qui nescit prævidere in posterum.

14 Quod de carcere, catenisque interdum quis egrediatur ad regnum: et alius natus in regno, inopia consumatur.

15 Vidi cunctos viventes, qui ambulant sub sole cum adolescente secundo, qui consurget pro eo.

16 Infinitus numerus est populi omnium, qui fuerunt ante eum: et qui postea futuri sunt, non lætabuntur in eo. sed et hoc, vanitas et afflictio spiritus.

17 Custodi pedem tuum ingrediens domum Dei, et appropinqua ut audias. Multo enim melior est obedientia, quam stultorum victimæ, qui nesciunt quid faciunt mali.

web (web) - WorldEnglish.Bible — CC0 modern update of ASV

1 Then I returned and saw all the oppressions that are done under the sun: and behold, the tears of those who were oppressed, and they had no comforter; and on the side of their oppressors there was power; but they had no comforter.

2 Therefore I praised the dead who have been long dead more than the living who are yet alive.

3 Yes, better than them both is him who has not yet been, who has not seen the evil work that is done under the sun.

4 Then I saw all the labor and achievement that is the envy of a man’s neighbor. This also is vanity and a striving after wind.

5 The fool folds his hands together and ruins himself.

6 Better is a handful, with quietness, than two handfuls with labor and chasing after wind.

7 Then I returned and saw vanity under the sun.

8 There is one who is alone, and he has neither son nor brother. There is no end to all of his labor, neither are his eyes satisfied with wealth. “For whom then do I labor and deprive my soul of enjoyment?” This also is vanity. Yes, it is a miserable business.

9 Two are better than one, because they have a good reward for their labor.

10 For if they fall, the one will lift up his fellow; but woe to him who is alone when he falls, and doesn’t have another to lift him up.

11 Again, if two lie together, then they have warmth; but how can one keep warm alone?

12 If a man prevails against one who is alone, two shall withstand him; and a threefold cord is not quickly broken.

13 Better is a poor and wise youth than an old and foolish king who doesn’t know how to receive admonition any more.

14 For out of prison he came out to be king; yes, even in his kingdom he was born poor.

15 I saw all the living who walk under the sun, that they were with the youth, the other, who succeeded him.

16 There was no end of all the people, even of all them over whom he was—yet those who come after shall not rejoice in him. Surely this also is vanity and a chasing after wind.

ylt (ylt) - Bible.com YLT98 plain UTF-8

1 And I have turned, and I see all the oppressions that are done under the sun, and lo, the tear of the oppressed, and they have no comforter; and at the hand of their oppressors <FI>is<Fi> power, and they have no comforter.

2 And I am praising the dead who have already died above the living who are yet alive.

3 And better than both of them <FI>is<Fi> he who hath not yet been, in that he hath not seen the evil work that hath been done under the sun.

4 And I have seen all the labour, and all the benefit of the work, because for it a man is the envy of his neighbour. Even this <FI>is<Fi> vanity and vexation of spirit.

5 The fool is clasping his hands, and eating his own flesh:

6 `Better <FI>is<Fi> a handful <FI>with<Fi> quietness, than two handfuls <FI>with<Fi> labour and vexation of spirit.'

7 And I have turned, and I see a vain thing under the sun:

8 There is one, and there is not a second; even son or brother he hath not, and there is no end to all his labour! His eye also is not satisfied with riches, and <FI>he saith not<Fi> , `For whom am I labouring and bereaving my soul of good?' This also is vanity, it is a sad travail.

9 The two <FI>are<Fi> better than the one, in that they have a good reward by their labour.

10 For if they fall, the one raiseth up his companion, but woe to the one who falleth and there is not a second to raise him up!

11 Also, if two lie down, then they have heat, but how hath one heat?

12 And if the one strengthen himself, the two stand against him; and the threefold cord is not hastily broken.

13 Better is a poor and wise youth than an old and foolish king, who hath not known to be warned any more.

14 For from a house of prisoners he hath come out to reign, for even in his own kingdom he hath been poor.

15 I have seen all the living, who are walking under the sun, with the second youth who doth stand in his place;

16 there is no end to all the people, to all who were before them; also, the latter rejoice not in him. Surely this also is vanity and vexation of spirit.

Explanations by Age Level

Explain Like I'm 5

A long, long time ago, there was nothing at all - no earth, no sky, no animals, no people. It was all dark and empty. But God was there! God is so powerful that He can make anything just by speaking. So God said "Let there be light!" and BOOM! There was light everywhere! God saw that the light was beautiful and good. He called the light "day" and the darkness "night." This was the very first day when God started making our wonderful world!

Explain Like I'm 10

Before anything existed - no planets, stars, or life - God decided to create the universe. The earth started out as a dark, empty place covered with water. But God's Spirit was there, ready to bring order and beauty to everything. When God spoke and said "Let there be light," light immediately appeared because God's words have incredible power. God looked at the light and was pleased with what He had made. He organized time by separating light (day) from darkness (night), creating the first 24-hour period. This shows us that God is organized and purposeful in everything He does.

Explain Like I'm 15

Genesis 1:1-5 establishes fundamental theological truths about God and creation. The Hebrew word "bara" (created) indicates creation from nothing (ex nihilo), demonstrating God's absolute sovereignty and power. The phrase "without form and void" (tohu wa-bohu) describes a state of chaos that God transforms into order. The Spirit of God "hovering" or "brooding" over the waters suggests active, caring involvement in creation. The creation of light before the sun (created on day 4) indicates that God Himself is the ultimate source of light and energy. The establishment of day and night creates the framework of time, showing that God operates within orderly patterns while transcending them. This passage refutes both atheistic materialism and pantheism, establishing that God is both transcendent (separate from creation) and immanent (actively involved in it).