| New Living Translation | Berean Study Bible |
| 1Again, I observed all the oppression that takes place under the sun. I saw the tears of the oppressed, with no one to comfort them. The oppressors have great power, and their victims are helpless. | 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. |
| 2So I concluded that the dead are better off than the living. | 2So I admired the dead, who had already died, above the living, who are still alive. |
| 3But most fortunate of all are those who are not yet born. For they have not seen all the evil that is done under the sun. | 3But better than both is he who has not yet existed, who has not seen the evil that is done under the sun. |
| 4Then I observed that most people are motivated to success because they envy their neighbors. But this, too, is meaningless—like chasing the wind. | 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. |
| 5“Fools fold their idle hands, leading them to ruin.” | 5The fool folds his hands and consumes his own flesh. |
| 6And yet, “Better to have one handful with quietness than two handfuls with hard work and chasing the wind.” The Advantages of Companionship | 6Better one handful with tranquility than two handfuls with toil and pursuit of the wind. |
| 7I observed yet another example of something meaningless under the sun. | 7Again, I saw futility under the sun. |
| 8This is the case of a man who is all alone, without a child or a brother, yet who works hard to gain as much wealth as he can. But then he asks himself, “Who am I working for? Why am I giving up so much pleasure now?” It is all so meaningless and depressing. | 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. |
| 9Two people are better off than one, for they can help each other succeed. | 9Two are better than one, because they have a good return for their labor. |
| 10If one person falls, the other can reach out and help. But someone who falls alone is in real trouble. | 10For if one falls down, his companion can lift him up; but pity the one who falls without another to help him up! |
| 11Likewise, two people lying close together can keep each other warm. But how can one be warm alone? | 11Again, if two lie down together, they will keep warm; but how can one keep warm alone? |
| 12A person standing alone can be attacked and defeated, but two can stand back-to-back and conquer. Three are even better, for a triple-braided cord is not easily broken. The Futility of Political Power | 12And though one may be overpowered, two can resist. Moreover, a cord of three strands is not quickly broken. |
| 13It is better to be a poor but wise youth than an old and foolish king who refuses all advice. | 13Better is a poor but wise youth than an old but foolish king who no longer knows how to take a warning. |
| 14Such a youth could rise from poverty and succeed. He might even become king, though he has been in prison. | 14For the youth has come from the prison to the kingship, though he was born poor in his own kingdom. |
| 15But then everyone rushes to the side of yet another youth who replaces him. | 15I saw that all who lived and walked under the sun followed this second one, the youth who succeeded the king. |
| 16Endless crowds stand around him, but then another generation grows up and rejects him, too. So it is all meaningless—like chasing the wind. | 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. |
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