Ecclesiastes 4:1-8

1Again I looked, and I considered all the oppression taking place under the sun. I saw the tears of the oppressed, and they had no comforter; the power lay in the hands of their oppressors, and there was no comforter. 2So I admired the dead, who had already died, above the living, who are still alive. 3But better than both is he who has not yet existed, who has not seen the evil that is done under the sun.

4I saw that all labor and success spring from a man’s envy of his neighbor. This too is futile and a pursuit of the wind.

7Again, I saw futility under the sun. 8There is a man all alone, without even a son or brother. And though there is no end to his labor, his eyes are still not content with his wealth: “For whom do I toil and bereave my soul of enjoyment?” This too is futile—a miserable task.