Ecclesiastes 4:1-8

The Evils of Oppression

¹Then I looked again at all the acts of oppression which were being done under the sun. And behold I saw the tears of the oppressed and that they had no one to comfort them; and on the side of their oppressors was power, but they had no one to comfort them. ²So I congratulated the dead who are already dead more than the living who are still living. ³But better off than both of them is the one who has never existed, who has never seen the evil activity that is done under the sun.

⁴I have seen that every labor and every skill which is done is the result of rivalry between a man and his neighbor. This too is vanity and striving after wind. ⁵The fool folds his hands and consumes his own flesh. ⁶One hand full of rest is better than two fists full of labor and striving after wind.

⁷Then I looked again at vanity under the sun. ⁸There was a certain man without a dependent, having neither a son nor a brother, yet there was no end to all his labor. Indeed, his eyes were not satisfied with riches and he never asked, “And for whom am I laboring and depriving myself of pleasure?” This too is vanity and it is a grievous task.