Ecclesiastes 4:3

Ecclesiastes 4:3 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)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.
• New International Version (NIV)But better than both is the one who has never been born, who has not seen the evil that is done under the sun.
• English Standard Version (ESV)But better than both is he who has not yet been and has not seen the evil deeds that are done under the sun.
• New King James Version (NKJV)Yet, better than both is he who has never existed, Who has not seen the evil work that is done under the sun.

Context of Ecclesiastes 4:3

1I saw again all the ways that people are cruel on the earth. I saw some people who were crying because cruel people were hurting them. There was nobody who could help them. Nobody could rescue them from those cruel people. 2I thought about people who are already dead. I decided that they are happier than the people who are still alive. But people who have not yet been born are even happier! They have not seen the evil things that happen on the earth. 4I also thought about the clever work that people do. I saw that people work hard because they are jealous of each other. They want to do better than other people. I realized that this has no purpose. It is like somebody who tries to catch the wind. 5Foolish people refuse to work. They sit and they do nothing. So they become hungry and they die.

Ecclesiastes 4:3 word by word

וְטוֹב֙ מִשְּׁנֵיהֶ֔ם אֵ֥ת אֲשֶׁר־עֲדֶ֖ן לֹ֣א הָיָ֑ה אֲשֶׁ֤ר לֹֽא־רָאָה֙ אֶת־הַמַּעֲשֶׂ֣ה הָרָ֔ע אֲשֶׁ֥ר נַעֲשָׂ֖ה תַּ֥חַת הַשָּֽׁמֶשׁ׃Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• Yea, betterטוֹבţôb · pleasantH2896
• than bothשְׁנַ֫יִםshenayim shettayim · twoH8147
• they, which hath not yetעֲדֶן‛ăden ‛ădennâh · stillH5728
• been, who hath not seenרָאָהrâ'âh · to see: seeH7200
• the evilרַעra‛ râ‛âh · bad: evilH7451
• workמַעֲשֶׂהma‛ăώeh · deedH4639
• that is doneעָשָׂה‛âώâh · to make: doH6213
• under the sunשֶׁ֫מֶשׁshemesh · sunH8121

Cross-references for Ecclesiastes 4:3

• Ecclesiastes 6:3Someone may have many children and he may live for a long time. But even if he lives until he is very old, he may not enjoy a good life. After he dies, people may not bury him with honour. His life would be useless. Even a child that is dead at birth is happier than that person. That is what I think.
• Job 3:10I curse that day because it allowed me to be born. It brought me into a life of trouble.
• Job 10:18Why did you let me be born? I should have died before anyone saw me.
• Jeremiah 20:17He should have killed me before I was born. I should have died inside my mother. She would have held me inside her. That would have been my grave for ever.
• Matthew 24:19That will be a bad time for women who are soon to have a baby! It will also be a bad time for those women who have little babies!
• Luke 23:29Listen! Days will come when people will say, “It is better for those women that could not have babies. Those women that never had babies to feed are the happy ones!”
• Ecclesiastes 1:14I thought about all the things that people do on the earth. I realized that all these things have no purpose. It is like somebody who tries to catch the wind.
• Ecclesiastes 2:17So I hated life. Everything that happens on the earth only brings me trouble. Nothing has any purpose. It is as useless as somebody who tries to catch the wind.
• Psalms 55:6So I say, ‘If I had wings to fly like a dove, I would fly away to a safe place.
• Jeremiah 9:2I would like to live in a hut in the desert. Then I could leave my people. I could forget about them. They have all turned away from God. They have not been faithful to him. They are a crowd of people that nobody can trust.’

Commentaries on Ecclesiastes 4:3

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 3Which hath not yet been - Better never to have been born into the world, than to have seen and suffered so many miseries.Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 1-17This section discusses various topics, such as justice, humans and animals, oppression, moderation, companionship, politics, and worship.Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 33. not seen--nor experienced.Read the comment

In the dictionaries

• Prison
• Threefold
• Esteem
• Synagogue, the Great

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