1 Again, I observed all the acts of oppression being done under the sun. d 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. 2 So I commended the dead, e who have already died, more than the living, who are still alive. 3 But better than either of them is the one who has not yet existed, f who has not seen the evil activity that is done under the sun.
The Loneliness of Wealth
4 I saw that all labor and all skillful work is due to one person’s jealousy of another. g This too is futile and a pursuit of the wind. ,h
5 The fool folds his arms i
and consumes his own flesh. j
6 Better one handful with rest
than two handfuls with effort and a pursuit of the wind. k
7 Again, I saw futility under the sun: 8 There 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. l “Who am I struggling for,” he asks, “and depriving myself of good things? ” This too is futile and a miserable task.
9 Two are better than one because they have a good reward for their efforts. 10 For if either falls, his companion can lift him up; but pity the one who falls without another to lift him up. 11 Also, if two lie down together, they can keep warm; but how can one person alone keep warm? m 12 And if someone overpowers one person, two can resist him. A cord of three strands is not easily broken.
13 Better is a poor but wise youth than an old but foolish king who no longer pays attention to warnings. n 14 For he came from prison to be king, o even though he was born poor in his kingdom. 15 I saw all the living, who move about under the sun, follow a second youth who succeeds him. 16 There 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. p
4:1–3. The first subunit focuses on injustice, which was introduced in the preceding section (3:16–17). The repetition of “oppression”/ “oppress” gives focus to this theme. The Teacher is making global observations here. What is painful is not just the tears and the power imbalance but also the fact that no one brings comfort to the oppressed (cf. Jb 16:2; Ps 69:20). The use of exact repetition in 4:1 is emphatic and a favored stylistic technique of the author (cf. 3:16). This observation is followed in 4:2–3a by one of the most negative-sounding claims in the book—that the dead are better off than the living, and those never born better off still! This statement is qualified, however, by a surprising reason: those never born have not “seen the evil activity that is done under the sun” (4:3b). The Teacher will continue to wrestle with the problem of divine injustice; here he focuses on those condemned to suffer alone.
4:4–6. The second subunit gives the Teacher’s analysis of the workplace: all diligent and skillful labor is motivated solely by competitive envy (4:4). This may strike us as cynical (and inaccurate), but it is typical of wisdom pedagogy to generalize and universalize in order to make a point. He determines that seeking to keep up with the Joneses is futile. Lest one think the Teacher is questioning the value of diligent efforts, he counters with a proverb and a “better than” saying (4:5–6). Only fools avoid work—to their own ruin (“consumes his own flesh”; cf. Pr 6:10–11 = Pr 24:33–34). Working solely to supply one’s material needs, if accompanied by “rest,” is preferable to striving constantly for more (“two handfuls”; cf. Pr 17:1).
4:7–12. The third subunit also focuses initially on the workplace, with thematic continuity signaled by the opening words “Again, I saw” (4:7; cf. 4:1). For the first time in the book the author uses hebel (“futility”) in his observation rather than in his concluding statement. “There is” (4:8) typically introduces a specific example in Ecclesiastes (e.g., 2:21; 7:15; 8:14). Unlike the individual in the preceding scenario, who works with an eye on others, this individual has no one to look to (as in the first scenario, 4:1). Lacking a partner or relative with whom to share the accrued wealth, this person labors without end and without contentment (see 5:10–6:9). Then this workaholic is stopped short by the obvious question: Why am I working so hard while depriving myself of enjoyment? This is “futile” and turns work into “a miserable task.”
4:13–16. The fourth subunit begins uniquely with a “better than” saying, which introduces the evaluative comparison between two successive monarchs (4:13–14). King 1 is old but unexpectedly foolish, no longer receptive to corrective advice. King 2 is still a youth and of ignoble birth but wise and therefore “better.” The Hebrew word for “poor” in verse 13 (also 9:15–16) refers to his status as a commoner rather than to financial poverty. King 2 was born into poverty in King 1’s kingdom and rose to power after being imprisoned. Commentators both ancient and modern have sought to identify these individuals with OT figures such as the pharaoh and Joseph or various Hellenistic rulers, but none sufficiently fit these details. The Teacher gives special attention to the fickleness of their subjects in 4:15–16. The masses thronged to the side of youthful King 2 when he replaced King 1. Unfortunately, those of the next generation of subjects “will not rejoice in” King 2, for the crowd’s adulation quickly dies out, regardless of how one governs.