ECCLESIASTES Chapter 4 (GNB)
SERAPHIM
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4:1 Then I looked
again at all the injustice that goes on in this world. The oppressed were
crying, and no one would help them. No one would help them, because their
oppressors had power on their side. |
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4:2 I envy those
who are dead and gone; they are better off than those who are still alive. |
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4:3 But better off
than either are those who have never been born, who have never seen the
injustice that goes on in this world. |
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4:4 I have also
learned why people work so hard to succeed: it is because they envy the
things their neighbors have. But it is useless. It
is like chasing the wind. |
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4:5 They say that
we would be fools to fold our hands and let ourselves starve to death. |
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4:6 Maybe so, but
it is better to have only a little, with peace of mind, than be busy all the
time with both hands, trying to catch the wind. |
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4:7 I have noticed something else in life that is useless. |
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4:8 Here is
someone who lives alone. He has no son, no brother, yet he is always working,
never satisfied with the wealth he has. For whom is he working so hard and
denying himself any pleasure? This is useless, too---and a miserable way to
live. |
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4:9 Two are better
off than one, because together they can work more effectively. |
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4:10 If one of them
falls down, the other can help him up. But if someone is alone and falls,
it's just too bad, because there is no one to help him. |
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4:11 If it is cold,
two can sleep together and stay warm, but how can you keep warm by yourself ? |
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4:12 Two people can
resist an attack that would defeat one person alone. A rope made of three
cords is hard to break. |
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4:13 Someone may
rise from poverty to become king of his country, or go from prison to the
throne, but if in his old age he is too foolish to take advice, he is not as
well off as a young man who is poor but intelligent. |
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4:14 (SEE 4:13)
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4:15 I thought
about all the people who live in this world, and I realized that somewhere
among them there is a young man who will take the king's place. |
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4:16 There may be
no limit to the number of people a king rules; when he is gone, no one will
be grateful for what he has done. It is useless. It is like chasing the wind.
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CHAPTER
ENDS
SERAPHIM
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