Ecclesiastes 4:2

And so, I praised the dead more than the living.

Catholic Public Domain Version

In The King James Version

Wherefore I praised the dead which are already dead more than the living which are yet alive.

In Context

1I turned myself to other things, and I saw the false accusations which are carried out under the sun, and the tears of the innocent, and that there was no one to console them; and that they were not able to withstand their violence, being destitute of all help.

3And happier than both of these, I judged him to be, who has not yet been born, and who has not yet seen the evils which are done under the sun.

Read all of Ecclesiastes 4

Cross References

Job 3:11Why did I not die in the womb? Having left the womb, why did I not immediately perish?

Job 3:21who expect death, and it does not arrive, like those who dig for treasure

Ecclesiastes 2:17And, because of this, my life wearied me, since I saw that everything under the sun is evil, and everything is empty and an affliction of the spirit.

Ecclesiastes 9:4There is no one who lives forever, or who even has confidence in this regard. A living dog is better than a dead lion.

Matthew Henry on Ecclesiastes 4:2-4

The Prevalence of Oppression. 1 So I returned, and considered all the oppressions that are done under the sun: and behold the tears of such as were oppressed, and they had no comforter; and on the side of their oppressors there was power; but they had no comforter. 2 Wherefore I praised the dead which are already dead more than the living which are yet alive. 3 Yea, better is he than both they, which hath not yet been, who hath not seen the evil work that is done under the sun. Solomon had a large soul ( 1 Kings… Read the whole commentary →

This Verse In Other Editions

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