Ecclesiastes 4:2

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

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. So 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.

Ecclesiastes 4:2 word by word

וְשַׁבֵּ֧חַ אֲנִ֛י אֶת־הַמֵּתִ֖ים שֶׁכְּבָ֣ר מֵ֑תוּ מִן־הַ֣חַיִּ֔ים אֲשֶׁ֛ר הֵ֥מָּה חַיִּ֖ים עֲדֶֽנָה׃Read the interlinear

• I congratulatedשָׁבַחshâbach · to praiseH7623
• the deadמוּתmûth · to dieH4191
• whoשֶׁלshel · whichH7945
• are alreadyכְּבָרkebâr · alreadyH3528
• moreמִן־min minnîy minnêy · fromH4480
• thanמִן־min minnîy minnêy · fromH4480
• the livingחַיchay · aliveH2416
• whoאֲשֶׁר'ăsher · whichH834
• are stillעֲדֶן‛ăden ‛ădennâh · stillH5728

Cross-references for Ecclesiastes 4:2

• Ecclesiastes 2:17So I hated life, for the work which had been done under the sun was grievous to me; because everything is futility and striving after wind.
• Ecclesiastes 9:4For whoever is joined with all the living, there is hope; surely a live dog is better than a dead lion.
• Job 3:17There the wicked cease from raging, And there the weary are at 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

• Death

In the dictionaries

• Prison
• Threefold
• Canon of the Old Testament
• 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