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Ecclesiastes chapter 4

English Standard Version

1Again I saw all the oppressions that are done under the sun. And behold, the tears of the oppressed, and they had no one to comfort them! On the side of their oppressors there was power, and there was no one to comfort them. 2And I thought the dead who are already dead more fortunate than the living who are still alive. 3But better than both is he who has not yet been and has not seen the evil deeds that are done under the sun.
4Then I saw that all toil and all skill in work come from a man 's envy of his neighbor. This also is vanity and a striving after wind.
5The fool folds his hands and eats his own flesh.
6Better is a handful of quietness than two hands full of toil and a striving after wind.
7Again, I saw vanity under the sun: 8one person who has no other, either son or brother, yet there is no end to all his toil, and his eyes are never satisfied with riches, so that he never asks, "For whom am I toiling and depriving myself of pleasure?" This also is vanity and an unhappy business.
9Two are better than one, because they have a good reward for their toil. 10For if they fall, one will lift up his fellow. But woe to him who is alone when he falls and has not another to lift him up! 11Again, if two lie together, they keep warm, but how can one keep warm alone? 12And though a man might prevail against one who is alone, two will withstand him — a threefold cord is not quickly broken.
13Better was a poor and wise youth than an old and foolish king who no longer knew how to take advice. 14For he went from prison to the throne, though in his own kingdom he had been born poor. 15I saw all the living who move about under the sun, along with that youth who was to stand in the king 's place. 16There was no end of all the people, all of whom he led. Yet those who come later will not rejoice in him. Surely this also is vanity and a striving after wind.
New International Version

1Again I looked and saw all the oppression that was taking place under the sun: 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. 2And I declared that the dead, who had already died, are happier than the living, who are still alive. 3But better than both is the one who has never been born, who has not seen the evil that is done under the sun.
4And I saw that all toil and all achievement spring from one person’s envy of another. This too is meaningless, a chasing after the wind.
5Fools fold their hands and ruin themselves. 6Better one handful with tranquillity than two handfuls with toil and chasing after the wind.
7Again I saw something meaningless under the sun:
8There was a man all alone; he had neither son nor brother. There was no end to his toil, yet his eyes were not content 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! 9Two are better than one, because they have a good return for their labor: 10If either of them falls down, one can help the other up. But pity anyone who falls and has no one to help them up. 11Also, if two lie down together, they will keep warm. But how can one keep warm alone? 12Though one may be overpowered, two can defend themselves. A cord of three strands is not quickly broken.
13Better a poor but wise youth than an old but foolish king who no longer knows how to heed a warning. 14The youth may have come from prison to the kingship, or he may have been born in poverty within his kingdom. 15I saw that all who lived and walked under the sun followed the youth, the king’s successor. 16There was no end to all the people who were before them. But those who came later were not pleased with the successor. This too is meaningless, a chasing after the wind.
New American Standard Bible

1Then I looked again at all the acts of oppression which were being done under the sun. And behold, I saw the tears of the oppressed and that they had no one to comfort them; and power was on the side of their oppressors, but they had no one to comfort them. 2So I congratulated the dead who are already dead, more than the living who are still living. 3But better 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.
4I have seen that every labor and every skill which is done is the result of rivalry between a person and his neighbor. This too is futility and striving after wind. 5The fool folds his hands and consumes his own flesh. 6One hand full of rest is better than two fists full of labor and striving after wind.
7Then I looked again at futility under the sun. 8There was a man without a dependent, having neither a son nor a brother, yet there was no end to all his labor. Indeed, his eyes were not satisfied with riches, and he never asked, 'And for whom do I labor and deprive myself of pleasure?' This too is futility, and it is an unhappy task.
9Two are better than one because they have a good return for their labor; 10for 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! 11Furthermore, if two lie down together they keep warm, but how can one be warm alone? 12And if one can overpower him who is alone, two can resist him. A cord of three strands is not quickly torn apart.
13A poor yet wise youth is better than an old and foolish king who no longer knows how to receive instruction— 14for he has come out of prison to become king, even though he was born poor in his kingdom. 15I have seen all those living under the sun move to the side of the second youth who replaces him. 16There is no end to all the people, to all who were before them. Even the ones who will come later will not be happy with him; for this too is futility and striving after wind.
Christian Standard Bible

1Again, I observed all the acts of oppression being done under the sun. Look at the tears of those who are oppressed; they have no one to comfort them. Power is with those who oppress them; they have no one to comfort them. 2So I commended the dead, who have already died, more than the living, who are still alive. 3But better than either of them is the one who has not yet existed, who has not seen the evil activity that is done under the sun.
4I saw that all labor and all skillful work is due to one person’s jealousy of another. This too is futile and a pursuit of the wind.
5The fool folds his arms and consumes his own flesh. 6Better one handful with rest than two handfuls with effort and a pursuit of the wind.
7Again, I saw futility under the sun: 8There is a person without a companion, without even a son or brother, and though there is no end to all his struggles, his eyes are still not content with riches. "Who am I struggling for," he asks, "and depriving myself of good things?" This too is futile and a miserable task.
9Two are better than one because they have a good reward for their efforts. 10For if either falls, his companion can lift him up; but pity the one who falls without another to lift him up. 11Also, if two lie down together, they can keep warm; but how can one person alone keep warm? 12And if someone overpowers one person, two can resist him. A cord of three strands is not easily broken.
13Better is a poor but wise youth than an old but foolish king who no longer pays attention to warnings. 14For he came from prison to be king, even though he was born poor in his kingdom. 15I saw all the living, who move about under the sun, follow a second youth who succeeds him. 16There is no limit to all the people who were before them, yet those who come later will not rejoice in him. This too is futile and a pursuit of the wind.
New Living Translation

1Again, I observed all the oppression that takes place under the sun. I saw the tears of the oppressed, with no one to comfort them. The oppressors have great power, and their victims are helpless. 2So I concluded that the dead are better off than the living. 3But most fortunate of all are those who are not yet born. For they have not seen all the evil that is done under the sun.
4Then I observed that most people are motivated to success because they envy their neighbors. But this, too, is meaningless — like chasing the wind.
5'Fools fold their idle hands, leading them to ruin.'
6And yet, 'Better to have one handful with quietness than two handfuls with hard work and chasing the wind.'
7I observed yet another example of something meaningless under the sun. 8This is the case of a man who is all alone, without a child or a brother, yet who works hard to gain as much wealth as he can. But then he asks himself, 'Who am I working for? Why am I giving up so much pleasure now?' It is all so meaningless and depressing.
9Two people are better off than one, for they can help each other succeed. 10If one person falls, the other can reach out and help. But someone who falls alone is in real trouble. 11Likewise, two people lying close together can keep each other warm. But how can one be warm alone? 12A person standing alone can be attacked and defeated, but two can stand back-to-back and conquer. Three are even better, for a triple-braided cord is not easily broken.
13It is better to be a poor but wise youth than an old and foolish king who refuses all advice. 14Such a youth could rise from poverty and succeed. He might even become king, though he has been in prison. 15But then everyone rushes to the side of yet another youth who replaces him. 16Endless crowds stand around him, but then another generation grows up and rejects him, too. So it is all meaningless — like chasing the wind.
King James Version

1So I returned, and considered all the oppressions that are done under the sun: and behold the tears of such as were oppressed, and they had no comforter; and on the side of their oppressors there was power; but they had no comforter.
2Wherefore I praised the dead which are already dead more than the living which are yet alive.
3Yea, better is he than both they, which hath not yet been, who hath not seen the evil work that is done under the sun. 4Again, I considered all travail, and every right work, that for this a man is envied of his neighbour. This is also vanity and vexation of spirit.
5The fool foldeth his hands together, and eateth his own flesh.
6Better is an handful with quietness, than both the hands full with travail and vexation of spirit. 7Then I returned, and I saw vanity under the sun.
8There is one alone, and there is not a second; yea, he hath neither child nor brother: yet is there no end of all his labour; neither is his eye satisfied with riches; neither saith he, For whom do I labour, and bereave my soul of good? This is also vanity, yea, it is a sore travail. 9Two are better than one; because they have a good reward for their labour.
10For if they fall, the one will lift up his fellow: but woe to him that is alone when he falleth; for he hath not another to help him up.
11Again, if two lie together, then they have heat: but how can one be warm alone?
12And if one prevail against him, two shall withstand him; and a threefold cord is not quickly broken. 13Better is a poor and a wise child than an old and foolish king, who will no more be admonished.
14For out of prison he cometh to reign; whereas also he that is born in his kingdom becometh poor.
15I considered all the living which walk under the sun, with the second child that shall stand up in his stead.
16There is no end of all the people, even of all that have been before them: they also that come after shall not rejoice in him. Surely this also is vanity and vexation of spirit.
New King James Version

1Then 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.
4Again, 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.
7Then I returned, and I saw vanity under the sun:
8There 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. 9Two are better than one, Because they have a good reward for their labor. 10For 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. 11Again, if two lie down together, they will keep warm; But how can one be warm alone? 12Though one may be overpowered by another, two can withstand him. And a threefold cord is not quickly broken. 13Better a poor and wise youth Than an old and foolish king who will be admonished no more. 14For he comes out of prison to be king, Although he was born poor in his kingdom. 15I 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.

What does Ecclesiastes chapter 4 mean?

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