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Ecclesiastes 3:16-4:8
View Full Chapter16And I saw something else under the sun: In the place of judgment—wickedness was there, in the place of justice—wickedness was there.
17I said to myself, “God will bring into judgment both the righteous and the wicked, for there will be a time for every activity, a time to judge every deed.”
18I also said to myself, “As for humans, God tests them so that they may see that they are like the animals.
19Surely the fate of human beings is like that of the animals; the same fate awaits them both: As one dies, so dies the other. All have the same breath
21Who knows if the human spirit rises upward and if the spirit of the animal goes down into the earth?” 22So I saw that there is nothing better for a person than to enjoy their work, because that is their lot. For who can bring them to see what will happen after them?
Oppression, Toil, Friendlessness 1Again I looked and saw all the oppression that was taking place under the sun: I saw the tears of the oppressed— and they have no comforter; power was on the side of their oppressors— and they have no comforter.
2And I declared that the dead, who had already died, are happier than the living, who are still alive.
3But better than both is the one who has never been born, who has not seen the evil that is done under the sun.
4And I saw that all toil and all achievement spring from one person’s envy of another. This too is meaningless, a chasing after the wind.
5Fools fold their hands and ruin themselves.
6Better one handful with tranquillity than two handfuls with toil and chasing after the wind.
7Again I saw something meaningless under the sun:
8There was a man all alone; he had neither son nor brother. There was no end to his toil, yet his eyes were not content with his wealth. “For whom am I toiling,” he asked, “and why am I depriving myself of enjoyment?” This too is meaningless— a miserable business!