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The Blue Letter Bible

Ecclesiastes 4 :: New King James Version (NKJV)

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CHAPTER 4
The Uselessness of Selfish Toil
1 Then I returned and considered all the oppression that is done under the sun:
​
​​And look! The tears of the oppressed,
​​But they have no comforter—
​​On the side of their oppressors there is power,
​​But they have no comforter.
2 ​​Therefore I praised the dead who were already dead,
​​More than the living who are still alive.
3 ​​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 ​​The fool folds his hands
​​And consumes his own flesh.
6 ​​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 companion:
​​He has neither son nor brother.
​​Yet there is no end to all his labors,
​​Nor is his eye satisfied with riches.
​​But he never asks,
​​“For whom do I toil and deprive myself of good?”
​​This also is vanity and a grave misfortune.
​
The Value of a Friend
​
9 ​​Two are better than one,
​​Because they have a good reward for their labor.
10 ​​For if they fall, one will lift up his companion.
​​But woe to him who is alone when he falls,
​​For he has no one to help him up.
11 ​​Again, if two lie down together, they will keep warm;
​​But how can one be warm alone?
12 ​​Though one may be overpowered by another, two can withstand him.
​​And a threefold cord is not quickly broken.
​
Popularity Passes Away
​
13 ​​Better a poor and wise youth
​​Than an old and foolish king who will be admonished no more.
14 ​​For he comes out of prison to be king,
​​Although he was born poor in his kingdom.
15 ​​I saw all the living who walk under the sun;
​​They were with the second youth who stands in his place.
16 ​​There was no end of all the people over whom he was made king;
​​Yet those who come afterward will not rejoice in him.
​​Surely this also is vanity and grasping for the wind.
See the NKJV Preface (Especially for Parenthesis, Brackets, & Asterisks).
NKJV

New King James Version, © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. All rights reserved. Used by permission.

The text of the New King James Version (NKJV) appearing on or deriving from this or any other web page is for personal use only. Any other use of the NKJV must be in conformity with the Quotation Policy for the New King James Version. For more information about the New King James Version, the Quotation Policy, and for inquiries about permission to use the New King James Version, go to Thomas Nelson, Inc..

For more information on this translation, see the NKJV Preface.

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Ecclesiastes Chapter 4 — Additional Translations:

King James Version New Living Translation New International Version English Standard Version Christian Standard Bible New American Standard Bible 2020 New American Standard Bible 1995 Legacy Standard Bible Amplified Bible New English Translation Revised Standard Version American Standard Version Young's Literal Translation Darby Translation Webster's Bible Hebrew Names Version Latin Vulgate Westminster Leningrad Codex Septuagint Smith Van Dyck Arabic Bible Open New Arabic Version Brenton's English Septuagint Reina Valera 1909 Reina-Valera 1960 Bible in Basic English Chinese Traditional Union Espanol Moderno Korean Holy Bible Louis Segond German Luther Russian Synodal Translation Sagradas Escrituras