Ecclesiastes 4:1-10

The Evils of Oppression

1 Then I looked again at all the acts of ¹oppression which were being done under the sun. And behold I saw the tears of the oppressed and that they had ²no one to comfort them; and on the side of their oppressors was power, but they had no one to comfort them.

2 So ³I congratulated the dead who are already dead more than the living who are still living.

3 But ⁴better off than both of them is the one who has never existed, who has never seen the evil activity that is done under the sun.

4 I have seen that every labor and every ⁵skill which is done is the result of rivalry between a man and his neighbor. This too is ⁶vanity and striving after wind.

5 The fool ⁷folds his hands and ⁸consumes his own flesh.

6 One hand full of rest is ⁹better than two fists full of labor and striving after wind.

7 Then I looked again at vanity under the sun.

8 There was a certain man without a dependent, having neither * a son nor a brother, yet there was no end to all his labor. Indeed, ¹⁰his eyes were not satisfied with riches and he never asked, "And ¹¹for whom am I laboring and depriving myself of pleasure?" This too is vanity and it is a ¹²grievous task.

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

10 For if either of them falls, the one will lift up his companion. But woe to the one who falls when there is not another to lift him up.

Ecclesiastes 4:1-10 Meaning and Commentary

INTRODUCTION TO ECCLESIASTES 4

In this chapter the wise man reassumes the consideration of the case of the abuse of power, to show that there is no happiness in this world, in grandeur and authority enjoyed; since, as he had observed before, on the one hand, the oppressor shall be judged and condemned at the great day of account; so, on the other hand, the oppressed have their lives made so uncomfortable, that the dead are preferred unto them, and unborn persons to them both, Ec 4:1-3; Another vanity he observes, that whereas men expect to be happy by their diligence and industry, this brings upon them the envy of others, Ec 4:4; hence some, on the other hand, place their happiness in sloth and ease, which is another vanity, Ec 4:5,6; and others again in covetousness; who are described by their unsocial life, toilsome labour, unsatisfied desires, and withholding good things from themselves, Ec 4:7,8; upon which some things are said, to show the benefits of a social life, Ec 4:9-12. And the chapter is concluded with exposing the vanity of the highest instance of worldly power and grandeur, royal dignity, through the folly of a king; the effects of which are mentioned, Ec 4:13,14; and through the fickleness of the people, who are soon weary of a prince on the throne, and court his successor, Ec 4:15,16.

Cross References

• 1. Job 35:9; Psalms 12:5; Ecclesiastes 3:16; Ecclesiastes 5:8; Isaiah 5:7
• 2. Jeremiah 16:7; Lamentations 1:9
• 3. Job 3:11-26; Ecclesiastes 2:17; Ecclesiastes 7:1
• 4. Job 3:11-22; Ecclesiastes 6:3; Luke 23:29
• 5. Ecclesiastes 2:21
• 6. Ecclesiastes 1:14
• 7. Proverbs 6:10; Proverbs 24:33
• 8. Isaiah 9:20
• 9. Proverbs 15:16, 17; Proverbs 16:8
• 10. Proverbs 27:20; Ecclesiastes 1:8; Ecclesiastes 5:10
• 11. Ecclesiastes 2:21
• 12. Ecclesiastes 1:13

Footnotes

• [a]. Or "futility," and so throughout the ch
• [b]. Lit "second"
• [c]. Lit "they fall"
• [d]. Lit "a second"