{"book":"Ecclesiastes","slug":"ecclesiastes","ch":4,"genre":"poetry","sub":"Ecclesiastes","prev":"ecclesiastes/3","next":"ecclesiastes/5","verses":[{"v":1,"t":"Again [I looked], and I considered all the oppression taking place under the sun. [I] saw the tears of the oppressed, and they had no comforter; the power [lay] in the hands of their oppressors, and there was no comforter.","f":[],"h":"The Evil of Oppression","style":"reg"},{"v":2,"t":"So I admired the dead, who had already died, above the living, who are still alive.","f":[]},{"v":3,"t":"But better than both is he who has not yet existed, who has not seen the evil that is done under the sun.","f":[]},{"v":4,"t":"I saw that all labor and success spring from a man’s envy of his neighbor. This too is futile and a pursuit of the wind.","f":[],"style":"reg"},{"v":5,"t":"The fool folds his hands and consumes his own flesh.","f":[],"lines":[{"style":"indent1stline","t":"The fool folds his hands"},{"style":"indent2","t":"and consumes his own flesh."}],"style":"indent1stline"},{"v":6,"t":"Better one handful with tranquility than two handfuls with toil and pursuit of the wind.","f":[],"lines":[{"style":"indent1","t":"Better one handful with tranquility"},{"style":"indent2","t":"than two handfuls with toil and pursuit of the wind."}],"style":"indent1"},{"v":7,"t":"Again, I saw futility under the sun.","f":[],"style":"reg"},{"v":8,"t":"There is a man all alone, without even a son or brother. And though there is no end to his labor, his eyes are still not content with his wealth:“ For whom do I toil and bereave my soul of enjoyment?” This too is futile — a miserable task.","f":[]},{"v":9,"t":"Two are better than one, because they have a good return for their labor.","f":[],"style":"reg"},{"v":10,"t":"For if one falls down, his companion can lift him up; but pity the one who falls without another to help him up!","f":[]},{"v":11,"t":"Again, if two lie down together, they will keep warm; but how can one keep warm {alone}?","f":[]},{"v":12,"t":"And though one may be overpowered, two can resist. Moreover, a cord of three strands is not quickly broken.","f":[]},{"v":13,"t":"Better is a poor but wise youth than an old but foolish king who no longer knows how to take a warning.","f":[],"h":"The Futility of Power","style":"reg"},{"v":14,"t":"For [the youth] has come from the prison to the kingship, though he was born poor in his own kingdom.","f":[]},{"v":15,"t":"I saw that all who lived and walked under the sun followed this second one, the youth who succeeded [the king].","f":[],"style":"reg"},{"v":16,"t":"There is no limit to all the people who were before them. Yet [the successor] will not be celebrated by those who come even later. This too is futile and a pursuit of the wind.","f":[]}]}