The Book of Ecclesiastes 4:1–16

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.

²Therefore I praised the dead who were already dead,

More than the living who are still alive.

³Yet, 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.

⁵The fool folds his hands

And consumes his own flesh.

⁶Better 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.

¹⁶There 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.

Commentary

Vs. 1-3 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.

²Therefore I praised the dead who were already dead,

More than the living who are still alive.

³Yet, better than both is he who has never existed,

Who has not seen the evil work that is done under the sun.

King Solomon having then considered the end of all life, now returns to the living, and considers all the oppression that is done under the sun. For it grieved him greatly to see the tears of the oppressed, their helplessness against those who are mighty and powerful in every generation, for they have no comforter, and yet ironically is their oppressors, who though wielding much ruthlessness and power over them also have no comforter. There is then a great sense of need for both, and yet our Comforter the Holy Spirit was not yet given, and so humanity without Him, God's Spirit in their persons and lives is very dark and tragic, so much so that King Solomon praised the dead more than the living, because there is no solace or peace in this life without Him in one’s life, who comes into all who believe in the Lord Jesus Christ. Yes, he went onto say that even better than the living or the dead is he who has never existed, who has not seen the evil work that is done under the sun. For a world without Christ Jesus and His Holy Spirit in people’s hearts and lives is not a world that anyone who has a heart would desire to live in.

Vs. 4-6 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.

⁵The fool folds his hands

And consumes his own flesh.

⁶Better a handful with quietness

Than both hands full, together with toil and grasping for the wind.

King Solomon also saw the vanity of selfish toil and gain, of striving to outdo ones neighbors, for striving to outdo another only arouses their envy against you. For people will not rejoice in your works when you’re only driven to try to "one up them", (which is the narcissist’s calling card), and yet this world is driven by just that, people living in competition, all striving to outdo each other, or striving to attain to…, and for what? Their own glory, fame, and riches? All which is just vanity and grasping for the wind, for true joy, peace, and satisfaction is never found in trying to outdo another whom you envy, or in exalting yourself above another so as to feel good about yourself. Now in contrast to being overtly and wrongly driven to achieve..., is the fool, the lazy person who never tries to do or achieve anything. For they don’t use, nor grow their natural God given talents and abilities. No they just loft around and attain to nothing in their lives. And so their own idleness inevitably immiserates their lives and ultimately shortens their time on earth. For God has created our bodies to work, (to be physically tasked and challenged), and our minds to think and learn and grow, and doing neither of these will only shorten ones days down here. Nonetheless in regards to the sort of drivenness, where one is never satisfied, King Solomon says it is better to have a handful with quietness, that to have both hands full, together with toil and grasping for the wind. For with contentment comes peace.

Vs. 7-8 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.

Sadly there are those whose lives are only spent in striving and toil, the person who is always trying to get more and more, even to point of having no relationships or friendships in their lives, for their focus is only on acquiring more and more, and then stashing away all that they have acquired. And yet they never ask themselves, “whom do I toil and deprive myself of good?” This also then is vanity and grave misfortune, because in the end, they never get to enjoy the fruit of their labors, nor are they a blessing to anyone else in this life, and so in the end all they have acquired and done will profit them nothing.

Vs. 9-12 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.

In contrast to the striving miser who lives alone and only for their “treasures”, King Solomon now expounds the wisdom of companionship, community, and family, for as he rightly observes two are better than one, because they have a good reward from their labor. Two in a business venture are always better than one for they can combine their skill and resources (vs. 9). Same with the marriage relationship, or having a close friendship, for if one falls the other can lift them up, but woe to him who is alone when he falls, for he has no one to lift him up. Same when two lie down they can keep each other warm, but one by themselves will aways get cold (vs. 10-11). Again the point is that having meaningful relationships makes one stronger, not weaker, and so it is though one may be overpowered by another, two can withstand him, and three fold cord is not quickly broken, which is clearly a reference to the family unit, or any unit where the hearts are united as one.

Vs. 13-16 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.

¹⁶There 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.

King Solomon now looks into the elderly king or ruler or has “overstayed their welcome”, who does not discern time and seasons, who does not see that their tenure has ended, that the people want someone new, vibrant, and youthful. A man’s legacy then can be ruined by him at the end of it, simply because he will not heed the wise counsel of others, who only want him to depart gracefully, rather than stubbornly clinging to power, while the people, his people, one by one depart from him. And so it is there is a youth who rises from his prison house to rule over all that he once did, whom the people now delight in, who make him their king in his place. There is no end to people whom he was made king over, and yet for all of that, those who come after him will not rejoice in him, for just as the people departed from his predecessor, so they will one day depart from him. Surely then this worldly pursuit of power is also is vanity and grasping for the wind.

Scripture Quotations

New King James (1982): Thomas Nelson.