Ecclesiastes 4-7

New International Version

I saw the tears of the oppressed—
    and they have no comforter;
power was on the side of their oppressors—
    and they have no comforter.^(B)
2 And I declared that the dead,^(C)
    who had already died,
are happier than the living,
    who are still alive.^(D)
3 But better than both
    is the one who has never been born,^(E)
who has not seen the evil
    that is done under the sun.^(F)

⁵ Fools fold their hands^(H)
    and ruin themselves.
⁶ Better one handful with tranquillity
    than two handfuls with toil^(I)
    and chasing after the wind.

⁸ There was a man all alone;
    he had neither son nor brother.
There was no end to his toil,
    yet his eyes were not content^(J) with his wealth.
“For whom am I toiling,” he asked,
    “and why am I depriving myself of enjoyment?”
This too is meaningless—
    a miserable business!

⁹ Two are better than one,
    because they have a good return for their labor:
¹⁰ If either of them falls down,
    one can help the other up.
But pity anyone who falls
    and has no one to help them up.
¹¹ Also, if two lie down together, they will keep warm.
    But how can one keep warm alone?
¹² Though one may be overpowered,
    two can defend themselves.
A cord of three strands is not quickly broken.

² Do not be quick with your mouth,
    do not be hasty in your heart
    to utter anything before God.^(K)
God is in heaven
    and you are on earth,
    so let your words be few.^(L)
3 A dream^(M) comes when there are many cares,
    and many words mark the speech of a fool.^(N)

¹⁰ Whoever loves money never has enough;
    whoever loves wealth is never satisfied with their income.
    This too is meaningless.

¹¹ As goods increase,
    so do those who consume them.
And what benefit are they to the owners
    except to feast their eyes on them?

¹² The sleep of a laborer is sweet,
    whether they eat little or much,
but as for the rich, their abundance
    permits them no sleep.^(T)

wealth hoarded to the harm of its owners,
¹⁴     or wealth lost through some misfortune,
so that when they have children
    there is nothing left for them to inherit.
¹⁵ Everyone comes naked from their mother’s womb,
    and as everyone comes, so they depart.^(V)
They take nothing from their toil^(W)
    that they can carry in their hands.^(X)

As everyone comes, so they depart,
    and what do they gain,
    since they toil for the wind?^(Y)
17 All their days they eat in darkness,
    with great frustration, affliction and anger.

⁷ Everyone’s toil is for their mouth,
    yet their appetite is never satisfied.^(AL)
8 What advantage have the wise over fools?^(AM)
What do the poor gain
    by knowing how to conduct themselves before others?
⁹ Better what the eye sees
    than the roving of the appetite.
This too is meaningless,
    a chasing after the wind.^(AN)

¹⁰ Whatever exists has already been named,^(AO)
    and what humanity is has been known;
no one can contend
    with someone who is stronger.
¹¹ The more the words,
    the less the meaning,
    and how does that profit anyone?

⁷ Extortion turns a wise person into a fool,
    and a bribe^(BA) corrupts the heart.

⁸ The end of a matter is better than its beginning,
    and patience^(BB) is better than pride.
⁹ Do not be quickly provoked^(BC) in your spirit,
    for anger resides in the lap of fools.^(BD)

¹⁰ Do not say, “Why were the old days^(BE) better than these?”
    For it is not wise to ask such questions.

¹¹ Wisdom, like an inheritance, is a good thing^(BF)
    and benefits those who see the sun.^(BG)
12 Wisdom is a shelter
    as money is a shelter,
but the advantage of knowledge is this:
    Wisdom preserves those who have it.

Who can straighten
    what he has made crooked?^(BI)
14 When times are good, be happy;
    but when times are bad, consider this:
God has made the one
    as well as the other.^(BJ)
Therefore, no one can discover
    anything about their future.

the righteous perishing in their righteousness,
    and the wicked living long in their wickedness.^(BL)
16 Do not be overrighteous,
    neither be overwise—
    why destroy yourself?
¹⁷ Do not be overwicked,
    and do not be a fool—
    why die before your time?^(BM)
18 It is good to grasp the one
    and not let go of the other.
    Whoever fears God^(BN) will avoid all extremes.^[b]

¹⁹ Wisdom^(BO) makes one wise person more powerful^(BP)
    than ten rulers in a city.

²⁰ Indeed, there is no one on earth who is righteous,^(BQ)
    no one who does what is right and never sins.^(BR)

²¹ Do not pay attention to every word people say,
    or you^(BS) may hear your servant cursing you—
²² for you know in your heart
    that many times you yourself have cursed others.

“I am determined to be wise”^(BT)—
    but this was beyond me.
²⁴ Whatever exists is far off and most profound—
    who can discover it?^(BU)
25 So I turned my mind to understand,
    to investigate and to search out wisdom and the scheme of things^(BV)
and to understand the stupidity of wickedness
    and the madness of folly.^(BW)

²⁶ I find more bitter than death
    the woman who is a snare,^(BX)
whose heart is a trap
    and whose hands are chains.
The man who pleases God will escape her,
    but the sinner she will ensnare.^(BY)

“Adding one thing to another to discover the scheme of things—
²⁸     while I was still searching
    but not finding—
I found one upright man among a thousand,
    but not one upright woman^(CA) among them all.
²⁹ This only have I found:
    God created mankind upright,
    but they have gone in search of many schemes.”