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Ecclesiastes 4 New Revised Standard Version Catholic Edition
<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml"><head><meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8" /><meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width; initial-scale=1.0; maximum-scale=1.0; user-scalable=0;"/><title>Ecclesiastes 4 New Revised Standard Version Catholic Edition</title><link rel="stylesheet" href="/chapnew2.css" type="text/css" media="Screen" /><link rel="stylesheet" href="../spec.css" type="text/css" media="Screen" /><link rel="stylesheet" href="/print.css" type="text/css" media="Print" /></head><body><div id="fx"><table width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" id="fx2"><tr><td><iframe width="100%" height="30" scrolling="no" src="../cmenus/ecclesiastes/4.htm" align="left" frameborder="0"></iframe></td></tr></table></div><div id="blnk"></div><div align="center"><table width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" class="maintable"><tr><td><div id="fx5"><table width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" id="fx6"><tr><td><iframe width="100%" height="245" scrolling="no" src="/bmcc/ecclesiastes/4-1.htm" frameborder="0"></iframe></td></tr></table></div></td></tr></table></div><div align="center"><table width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" class="maintable3"><tr><td><table width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" align="center" id="announce"><tr><td><div id="l1"><div id="breadcrumbs"><a href="http://biblehub.com/catholic">Bible</a> > <a href="../">NRSVCE</a> > Ecclesiastes 4</div><div id="anc"><iframe src="/anc.htm" width="100%" height="27" scrolling="no" frameborder="0"></iframe></div><div id="anc2"><table width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" align="center"><tr><td><iframe src="/anc2.htm" width="100%" height="27" scrolling="no" frameborder="0"></iframe></td></tr></table></div></div></td></tr></table><div id="movebox2"><table border="0" align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0"><tr><td><div id="topheading"><a href="../ecclesiastes/3.htm" title="Ecclesiastes 3">◄</a> Ecclesiastes 4 <a href="../ecclesiastes/5.htm" title="Ecclesiastes 5">►</a></div></td></tr></table></div><div align="center" class="maintable2"><table border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" align="center"><tr><td><div id="leftbox"><div class="padleft"><div class="vheading"><table width="100%"><tr><td width="99%" valign="top">New Revised Standard Version Catholic Edition</td><td width="1%" valign="top"></td></tr></table></div><div class="chap"><div class="text-html"> <p class="chapter-1"><span id="en" class="text"><span class="versenum">1</span>Again I saw all the oppressions that are practiced under the sun. Look, the tears of the oppressed—with no one to comfort them! On the side of their oppressors there was power—with no one to comfort them. </span> <span id="en" class="text"><span class="versenum">2</span>And I thought the dead, who have already died, more fortunate than the living, who are still alive; </span> <span id="en" class="text"><span class="versenum">3</span>but better than both is the one who has not yet been, and has not seen the evil deeds that are done under the sun.</span></p> <p><span id="en" class="text"><span class="versenum">4</span>Then I saw that all toil and all skill in work come from one person’s envy of another. This also is vanity and a chasing after wind.<span data-fn='#fen' class='footnote' data-link='[<a href="#fen-NRSVCE-19456a" title="See footnote a">a</a>]'>[<a href="#fen" xtitle="See footnote a">a</a>]</span></span></p> <div class="poetry"><p class="line"><span id="en" class="text"><span class="versenum">5</span>Fools fold their hands</span><br /><span class="indent-1"><span class="indent-1-breaks"> </span><span class="text">and consume their own flesh.</span></span><br /><span id="en" class="text"><span class="versenum">6</span>Better is a handful with quiet</span><br /><span class="indent-1"><span class="indent-1-breaks"> </span><span class="text">than two handfuls with toil,</span></span><br /><span class="indent-1"><span class="indent-1-breaks"> </span><span class="text">and a chasing after wind.<span data-fn='#fen' class='footnote' data-link='[<a href="#fen-NRSVCE-19458b" title="See footnote b">b</a>]'>[<a href="#fen" xtitle="See footnote b">b</a>]</span></span></span></p></div> <p><span id="en" class="text"><span class="versenum">7</span>Again, I saw vanity under the sun: </span> <span id="en" class="text"><span class="versenum">8</span>the case of solitary individuals, without sons or brothers; yet there is no end to all their toil, and their eyes are never satisfied with riches. “For whom am I toiling,” they ask, “and depriving myself of pleasure?” This also is vanity and an unhappy business.</span></p> <h3><span id="en" class="text">The Value of a Friend</span></h3><p><span class="text"><span class="versenum">9</span>Two are better than one, because they have a good reward for their toil. </span> <span id="en" class="text"><span class="versenum">10</span>For if they fall, one will lift up the other; but woe to one who is alone and falls and does not have another to help. </span> <span id="en" class="text"><span class="versenum">11</span>Again, if two lie together, they keep warm; but how can one keep warm alone? </span> <span id="en" class="text"><span class="versenum">12</span>And though one might prevail against another, two will withstand one. A threefold cord is not quickly broken.</span></p> <p><span id="en" class="text"><span class="versenum">13</span>Better is a poor but wise youth than an old but foolish king, who will no longer take advice. </span> <span id="en" class="text"><span class="versenum">14</span>One can indeed come out of prison to reign, even though born poor in the kingdom. </span> <span id="en" class="text"><span class="versenum">15</span>I saw all the living who, moving about under the sun, follow that<span data-fn='#fen' class='footnote' data-link='[<a href="#fen-NRSVCE-19467c" title="See footnote c">c</a>]'>[<a href="#fen" xtitle="See footnote c">c</a>]</span> youth who replaced the king;<span data-fn='#fen' class='footnote' data-link='[<a href="#fen-NRSVCE-19467d" title="See footnote d">d</a>]'>[<a href="#fen" xtitle="See footnote d">d</a>]</span> </span> <span id="en" class="text"><span class="versenum">16</span>there was no end to all those people whom he led. Yet those who come later will not rejoice in him. Surely this also is vanity and a chasing after wind.<span data-fn='#fen' class='footnote' data-link='[<a href="#fen-NRSVCE-19468e" title="See footnote e">e</a>]'>[<a href="#fen" xtitle="See footnote e">e</a>]</span></span></p> <A name="fen"></a><div class="footnotes"><h4>Footnotes</h4><ol><li id="fen"><a hlef="#en" xtitle="Go to Ecclesiastes 4:4">Ecclesiastes 4:4</a> <span class='footnote-text'>Or <i>a feeding on wind.</i> See Hos 12.1</span></li><li id="fen"><a hlef="#en" xtitle="Go to Ecclesiastes 4:6">Ecclesiastes 4:6</a> <span class='footnote-text'>Or <i>a feeding on wind.</i> See Hos 12.1</span></li><li id="fen"><a hlef="#en" xtitle="Go to Ecclesiastes 4:15">Ecclesiastes 4:15</a> <span class='footnote-text'>Heb <i>the second</i></span></li><li id="fen"><a hlef="#en" xtitle="Go to Ecclesiastes 4:15">Ecclesiastes 4:15</a> <span class='footnote-text'>Heb <i>him</i></span></li><li id="fen"><a hlef="#en" xtitle="Go to Ecclesiastes 4:16">Ecclesiastes 4:16</a> <span class='footnote-text'>Or <i>a feeding on wind.</i> See Hos 12.1</span></li></ol></div> <!--end of footnotes--></div></div></div></div></div> </div> </div><div id="botbox"><div class="padbot"><div align="center">Scripture quotations are from the New Revised Standard Version Bible: Catholic Edition, copyright © 1989, 1993 National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. 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