| 4:1 | 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 comforterOn the side of their oppressors [there is] power, But they have no comforter. |
| 4:2 | Therefore I praised the dead who were already dead, More than the living who are still alive. |
| 4:3 | Yet, better than both [is he] who has never existed, Who has not seen the evil work that is done under the sun. |
| 4:4 | 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. |
| 4:5 | The fool folds his hands And consumes his own flesh. |
| 4:6 | Better a handful [with] quietness Than both hands full, [together with] toil and grasping for the wind. |
| 4:7 | Then I returned, and I saw vanity under the sun: |
| 4:8 | 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. |
| 4:9 | Two [are] better than one, Because they have a good reward for their labor. |
| 4:10 | 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. |
| 4:11 | Again, if two lie down together, they will keep warm; But how can one be warm [alone]? |
| 4:12 | Though one may be overpowered by another, two can withstand him. And a threefold cord is not quickly broken. |
| 4:13 | Better a poor and wise youth Than an old and foolish king who will be admonished no more. |
| 4:14 | For he comes out of prison to be king, Although he was born poor in his kingdom. |
| 4:15 | I saw all the living who walk under the sun; They were with the second youth who stands in his place. |
| 4:16 | [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. |
Pengkhotbah 4 - New King James Version
