Ecclesiastes 4

4 ¹Again I looked and saw all the oppression under the sun: the oppressed were in tears, with no one to comfort them; their oppressors held the power, and still no comforter. ²So I declared the dead, who had already died, happier than the living, who are still alive. ³Better than both is the one not yet born, who hasn't seen the evil done under the sun. ⁴I saw all labor and skill come from one neighbor's envy of another. This too is fleeting, a chasing after wind. ⁵The fool folds his hands and ruins himself. ⁶Better one handful with tranquility than two handfuls with toil and a chasing after the wind.

⁷Again I saw something fleeting under the sun:

⁸A man alone, no companion, no son or brother; his labor has no end, yet his eyes never fill with wealth. "For whom am I working," he asks, "denying myself good?" This too is a breath—a bad task.

⁹Two are better than one, because they have a good return for their labor: ¹⁰If one falls, the other lifts him up. But pity the one who falls alone, with no one to help him up. ¹¹Also, if two lie down together, they will keep warm. But how can one keep warm alone? ¹²One alone can be overpowered; two can resist. A cord of three strands is not quickly broken.

The Wise Youth and the Foolish King

¹³Better a poor, wise youth than an old, foolish king who no longer knows to take warning. ¹⁴The youth may have come from prison to reign, or he may have been born poor within that same kingdom. ¹⁵I saw all the living who move about under the sun following the youth, the king's successor. ¹⁶Countless were all the people who came before him. Yet those who came later were not pleased with him. This too is fleeting, a chasing after wind.