Ecclesiastes Chapter 4

¹ Then I looked at the oppression that’s under the sun and saw the tears of the oppressed that have no comforters because their oppressors have the power. ² So I decided the dead are better off than the living, ³ and the ones that never existed are better off yet.

⁴ I saw that competition between people drives work and achievement. That's pointless too, like chasing the wind. ⁵ Fools fold their hands, so their bodies atrophy. ⁶ One handful with quietness is better than two with toil—and chasing the wind.

⁷ I saw something else that’s pointless under the sun: ⁸ people with nobody that needs them—offspring or sibling, yet they work as hard as they can to get wealth, but to no end because wealth doesn’t satisfy them: “Who am I working for? Who am I depriving myself of enjoyment for?” It’s all meaningless and depressing.

Eccl 4:1-8

⁹ Two are better than one because they can get more done. ¹⁰ If either falls, the other can help; misfortune awaits whoever doesn’t have anybody that can help. ¹¹ Besides, if two lie down together, they can keep warm; how can one keep warm alone? ¹² A bully can overpower someone that’s alone, but two can resist. A cord with three strands doesn’t break easily.

¹³ A poor, wise youth is better off than a foolish old king who doesn’t know how to accept instruction anymore. ¹⁴ A youth can come out of prison to become king, though he was born in poverty. ¹⁵ But I’ve seen people throng to the next young man to replace him, ¹⁶ and there’s no end to his successors. But people won’t be happy with those successors either. That whole scenario is pointless, too, like chasing the wind.

Eccl 4:9-16