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

1Next, I turned to look at all the acts of oppression that make people suffer under the sun. Look at the tears of those who suffer! No one can comfort them. Their oppressors have ⌞all⌟ the power. No one can comfort those who suffer. 2I congratulate the dead, who have already died, rather than the living, who still have to carry on. But the person who hasn’t been born yet is better off than both of them. He hasn’t seen the evil that is done under the sun. 4Then I saw that all hard work and skillful effort come from rivalry. Even this is pointless. ⌞It’s like⌟ trying to catch the wind. 5A fool folds his hands and wastes away.

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 6:3Suppose a rich person wasn’t satisfied with good things ⌞while he was alive⌟ and didn’t even get an honorable burial ⌞after he died⌟. Suppose he had a hundred children and lived for many years. No matter how long he would have lived, it ⌞still⌟ would have been better for him to have been born dead.
• Job 3:10because it did not shut the doors of the womb ⌞from which I came⌟ or hide my eyes from trouble.
• Job 10:18“ ‘Why did you take me out of the womb? I wish I had breathed my last breath before anyone had laid eyes on me.
• Jeremiah 20:17If only he had killed me while I was in the womb. Then my mother would have been my grave, and she would have always been pregnant.
• Matthew 24:19“How horrible it will be for the women who are pregnant or who are nursing babies in those days.
• Luke 23:29The time is coming when people will say, ‘Blessed are the women who couldn’t get pregnant, who couldn’t give birth, and who couldn’t nurse a child.’
• Ecclesiastes 1:14I have seen everything that is done under the sun. Look at it! It’s all pointless. ⌞It’s like⌟ trying to catch the wind.
• Ecclesiastes 2:17So I came to hate life because everything done under the sun seemed wrong to me. Everything was pointless. ⌞It was like⌟ trying to catch the wind.
• Psalms 55:6I said, “If only I had wings like a dove— I would fly away and find rest.
• Jeremiah 9:2I wish I had a place to stay in the desert. I would abandon my people and go away from them. They are all adulterers, a mob of traitors.

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