Ecclesiastes 4

₁I have also seen a lot of people in this world who make other people suffer. I heard the people who were oppressed crying and there was no one to help them. The people who oppressed them were strong and there was no one to help the people who suffered. ₂I thought that the people who have died are happier than the people who are still_alive. ₃But who are happier than all of them? They are the people who are not born yet. They are happier because they have not seen the bad things that people do in this world.

₄I have seen people work hard because they want to succeed. They do this because they are jealous of each other. Also this is not as it should be. It is useless, and it is like trying to catch the wind. ₅Fools don't use their hands, and they don't work, but they will die because they will have no food to eat. ₆Sometimes it is better to rest and have only a little food than to work hard every day and have a lot of food. That is useless, and it is like trying to catch the wind.

₇I saw something else in this world that is not as it should be. ₈I saw a man who had no family, no son or brothers. He always worked hard but he was never happy with what he had. Later he asked himself: ‘Why am I working to have more? Who will get all my money? Why don't I let myself enjoy life?’ Also this is not how it should be. Life is very bad.

₉It is better if 2 people are together than it is to be alone. If 2 people work together, they can get a bigger reward, ₁₀because if one of them falls, the other one can help him to get up. But it is bad if someone falls and there is no one to help him get up. ₁₁And when 2 people lie down together, they keep each other warm, but if someone is alone, he will not get warm. ₁₂Someone can attack a person and hurt him, but he can not do it if there are 2 people. It is like taking 3 ropes and making one thick rope of it. That rope is stronger and will not break easily.

₁₃A young man who is poor but has wisdom is better than a king who is old but is a fool and doesn't want to listen to his advisors. ₁₄Yes, maybe the young man was born when the old king already ruled and maybe his parents were poor. Maybe the young man is a prisoner, but he can get out and become a king. ₁₅I saw that all the people in this world would choose to go with the young man who would become king in the place of the old king. ₁₆There are always people who want to serve a new king, but later they don't like him anymore. Also this is useless, and it is like trying to catch the wind.