Berean Standard Bible
Ecclesiastes 4:2
2So I admired the dead, who had already died, above the living, who are still alive.
Ecclesiastes 4:2 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)Wherefore I praised the dead which are already dead more than the living which are yet alive.
- New International Version (NIV)And I declared that the dead, who had already died, are happier than the living, who are still alive.
- English Standard Version (ESV)And I thought the dead who are already dead more fortunate than the living who are still alive.
- New King James Version (NKJV)Therefore I praised the dead who were already dead, More than the living who are still alive.
Context of Ecclesiastes 4:2
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. So 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.
Read all of Ecclesiastes 4Ecclesiastes 4:2 word by word
וְשַׁבֵּ֧חַ אֲנִ֛י אֶת־הַמֵּתִ֖ים שֶׁכְּבָ֣ר מֵ֑תוּ מִן־הַ֣חַיִּ֔ים אֲשֶׁ֛ר הֵ֥מָּה חַיִּ֖ים עֲדֶֽנָה׃Read the interlinear
- So Iאֲנִי'ănîy · IH589
- ·אֵת'êth · [Obj.]H853
- admiredשָׁבַחshâbach · to praiseH7623
- the deadמוּתmûth · to dieH4191
- who had alreadyכְּבָרkebâr · alreadyH3528
- aboveמִן־min minnîy minnêy · fromH4480
- the livingחַיchay · aliveH2416
- whoאֲשֶׁר'ăsher · whichH834
- whoהֵ֫מָּהhêm hêmmâh · they(masc.)H1992
- are stillעֲדֶן‛ăden ‛ădennâh · stillH5728
Cross-references for Ecclesiastes 4:2
- Ecclesiastes 2:17So I hated life, because the work that is done under the sun was grievous to me. For everything is futile and a pursuit of the wind.
- Ecclesiastes 9:4There is hope, however, for anyone who is among the living; for even a live dog is better than a dead lion.
- Job 3:17There the wicked cease from raging, and there the weary find rest.
Commentaries on Ecclesiastes 4:2
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 2Wherefore I praised the dead - I considered those happy who had escaped from the pilgrimage of life to the place where the wicked cease from troubling, and where the weary are at rest.Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 2In places with oppression, the dead are better off than the living. The dead no longer suffer mistreatment.Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 22. A profane sentiment if severed from its connection; but just in its bearing on Solomon's scope. If religion were not taken into account (Ec 3:17, 19), to die as soon as possible would be desirable, so as not to suffer or witness "oppressions"; and still more so, not to be born at all (Ec 7:1). Job (Job 3:12; 21:7), David (Psa 73:3, &c.), Jeremiah (Jr 12:1), Habakkuk (Ha 1:13), all passed through the same perplexity, until they went into the sanctuary…Read the comment
Topics related to Ecclesiastes 4:2
In the dictionaries
Commentaries on Ecclesiastes 4
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
- Tyndale Open Study Notes
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
- Rashi on Tanakh
- Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
- John Wesley’s Notes
- Darby Translation Notes
- Geneva Bible Translation Notes
- Kingcomments
- Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
- Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
- Original Douay–Rheims Annotations
- Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
- EGW Writings
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