Ecclesiastes · 16 verses
Ecclesiastes 4
Every verse links to the people and places named in it, and to the passages readers connect it with.
The chapter
What happens here
Atlas's own reading, written from this chapter and nothing else, and published only once a person has approved it. Each scene names the verses it covers; the names inside it link to the people and places they name.
A youth comes from prison to kingship, is followed by everyone under the sun, and is forgotten by those who come later.
The strange arithmetic of lifevv. 1–8
Oppression appears first: tears without a comforter, power held by oppressors, and a verdict that turns the usual order upside down. The dead are admired above the living, and the not-yet-existent above both. Then comes the fool, folding his hands and consuming his own flesh—a picture left gloriously unexplained. Labour fares little better: envy drives success, while one solitary man works endlessly and cannot say whom the wealth is for.
Two, and then threevv. 9–12
Against the solitary labourer stands the plain advantage of company. One companion can lift another from the ground, two can keep warm, and two can resist what would overpower one. The final image gathers them together neatly: a cord of three strands, which is apparently in no hurry to break.
The prisoner's brief kingdomvv. 13–16
A poor but wise youth is set against an old foolish king who has ceased to heed a warning. The youth comes out of prison into kingship, though he was born poor in his own kingdom, and the whole population follows him. Yet the triumph has a short shelf-life: those who come later will not celebrate the successor. Even a universal following turns out to be chasing the wind.
The text
Read it
Berean Standard Bible, public domain. Names the Hebrew and Greek put in the verse link to the person, place or people they name; the address beside each verse is a link to that verse, which is what a reader copies and shares.
Eccl 4:1Again 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.
Eccl 4:2So I admired the dead, who had already died, above the living, who are still alive.
Eccl 4:3But better than both is he who has not yet existed, who has not seen the evil that is done under the sun.
Eccl 4:4I 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.
Eccl 4:5The fool folds his hands and consumes his own flesh.
Eccl 4:6Better one handful with tranquility than two handfuls with toil and pursuit of the wind.
Eccl 4:7Again, I saw futility under the sun.
Eccl 4:8There 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.
Eccl 4:9Two are better than one, because they have a good return for their labor.
Eccl 4:10For if one falls down, his companion can lift him up; but pity the one who falls without another to help him up!
Eccl 4:11Again, if two lie down together, they will keep warm; but how can one keep warm alone?
Eccl 4:12And though one may be overpowered, two can resist. Moreover, a cord of three strands is not quickly broken.
Eccl 4:13Better is a poor but wise youth than an old but foolish king who no longer knows how to take a warning.
Eccl 4:14For the youth has come from the prison to the kingship, though he was born poor in his own kingdom.
Eccl 4:15I saw that all who lived and walked under the sun followed this second one, the youth who succeeded the king.
Eccl 4:16There 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.
02 — Read alongside
Where this is echoed
Readers' own connections, from OpenBible's crowd-voted cross-references — agreement about relevance, and not scholarly confidence. 159 passages were voted onto 16 verses of this chapter; the 16 shown lead on votes, and each is listed at the verse it was voted onto most strongly.
- 9Proverbs 27:17As iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another.
- 9Genesis 2:18The LORD God also said, “It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make for him a suitable helper.”
- 91 Corinthians 12:18–21But in fact, God has arranged the members of the body, every one of them, according to His design.
- 9Numbers 11:14I cannot carry all these people by myself; it is too burdensome for me.
- 9Mark 6:7Then Jesus called the Twelve to Him and began to send them out two by two, giving them authority over unclean spirits.
- 101 Thessalonians 5:11Therefore encourage and build one another up, just as you are already doing.
- 6Proverbs 16:8Better a little with righteousness than great gain with injustice.
- 6Proverbs 15:16–17Better a little with the fear of the LORD than great treasure with turmoil.
- 9John 4:36Already the reaper draws his wages and gathers a crop for eternal life, so that the sower and the reaper may rejoice together.
- 1Ecclesiastes 3:16Furthermore, I saw under the sun that in the place of judgment there is wickedness, and in the place of righteousness there is wickedness.
- 9Ruth 2:12May the LORD repay your work, and may you receive a rich reward from the LORD, the God of Israel, under whose wings you have taken refuge.”
- 41 John 3:12Do not be like Cain, who belonged to the evil one and murdered his brother. And why did Cain slay him? Because his own deeds were evil, while those of his brother were righteous.
- 6Psalms 37:16Better is the little of the righteous than the abundance of many who are wicked.
- 81 John 2:16For all that is in the world—the desires of the flesh, the desires of the eyes, and the pride of life—is not from the Father but from the world.
- 9Acts 13:2While they were worshiping the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, “Set apart for Me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.”
- 8Proverbs 27:20Sheol and Abaddon are never satisfied; so the eyes of man are never satisfied.
Onward