• 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.