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

1Again, I observed all the oppression that takes place under the sun. I saw the tears of the oppressed, with no one to comfort them. The oppressors have great power, and their victims are helpless. So I concluded that the dead are better off than the living. 3But most fortunate of all are those who are not yet born. For they have not seen all the evil that is done under the sun. 4Then I observed that most people are motivated to success because they envy their neighbors. But this, too, is meaningless—like chasing the wind.

Ecclesiastes 4:2 word by word

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

Words taken from the KJV.

• Wherefore I praisedשָׁבַחshâbach · to praiseH7623
• the deadמוּתmûth · to dieH4191
• which are alreadyכְּבָרkebâr · alreadyH3528
• more than the livingחַיchay · aliveH2416
• which are yetעֲדֶן‛ăden ‛ădennâh · stillH5728

Cross-references for Ecclesiastes 4:2

• Ecclesiastes 2:17So I came to hate life because everything done here under the sun is so troubling. Everything is meaningless—like chasing the wind.
• Ecclesiastes 9:4There is hope only for the living. As they say, “It’s better to be a live dog than a dead lion!”
• Job 3:17For in death the wicked cause no trouble, and 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