Ecclesiastes 4

¹I turnede me to othere thingis, and Y siy fals chalengis, that ben don vndur the sunne, and the teeris of innocentis, and no man coumfortour; and that thei forsakun of the help of alle men, moun not ayenstonde the violence of hem.

²And Y preiside more deed men than lyuynge men;

³and Y demyde hym, that was not borun yit, and siy not the yuels that ben don vndur the sunne, to be blisfulere than euer eithir.

⁴Eft Y bihelde alle the trauelis of men, and bisynesses; and Y perseyuede that tho ben opyn to the enuye of neiybore; and therfor in this is vanyte, and superflu bisynesse.

⁵A fool foldith togidere hise hondis, and etith hise fleischis,

⁶and seith, Betere is an handful with reste, than euer either hondful with trauel and turment of soule.

⁷I bihelde and foond also another vanytee vndir the sunne;

⁸oon is, and he hath not a secounde; not a sone, not a brother; and netheles he ceesith not for to trauele, nether hise iyen ben fillid with richessis; nether he bithenkith, and seith, To whom trauele Y, and disseyue my soule in goodis? In this also is vanyte, and the worste turment.

⁹Therfor it is betere, that tweyne be togidere than oon; for thei han profite of her felouschipe.

¹⁰If oon fallith doun, he schal be vndurset of the tothere; wo to hym that is aloone, for whanne he fallith, he hath noon reisynge him.

¹¹And if tweyne slepen, thei schulen be nurschid togidere; hou schal oon be maad hoot?

¹²And if ony man hath maistri ayens oon, tweyne ayen stonden hym; a threfolde corde is brokun of hard.

¹³A pore man and wijs is betere than an eld kyng and fool, that kan not bifore se in to tyme to comynge.

¹⁴For sum tyme a man goith out bothe fro prysoun and chaynes to a rewme; and anothir borun in to a rewme is wastid bi nedynesse.

¹⁵I siy alle men lyuynge that goen vndur the sunne, with the secounde yong wexynge man, that schal rise for hym.

¹⁶The noumbre of puple, of alle that weren bifore hym, is greet with outen mesure, and thei that schulen come aftirward, schulen not be glad in hym; but also this is vanyte and turment of the spirit.

¹⁷Thou that entrist in to the hous of God, kepe thi foot, and neiye thou for to here; for whi myche betere is obedience than the sacrifices of foolis, that witen not what yuel thei don.

Ecclesiastes 4

¹So I returned, and considered all the oppressions that are done under the sun: and behold the tears of such as were oppressed, and they had no comforter; and on the side of their oppressors there was power; but they had no comforter.

²Wherefore I praised the dead which are already dead more than the living which are yet alive.

³Yea, better is he than both they, which hath not yet been, who hath not seen the evil work that is done under the sun.

⁴Again, I considered all travail, and every right work, that for this a man is envied of his neighbour. This is also vanity and vexation of spirit.

⁵The fool foldeth his hands together, and eateth his own flesh.

⁶Better is an handful with quietness, than both the hands full with travail and vexation of spirit.

⁷Then I returned, and I saw vanity under the sun.

⁸There is one alone, and there is not a second; yea, he hath neither child nor brother: yet is there no end of all his labour; neither is his eye satisfied with riches; neither saith he, For whom do I labour, and bereave my soul of good? This is also vanity, yea, it is a sore travail.

⁹Two are better than one; because they have a good reward for their labour.

¹⁰For if they fall, the one will lift up his fellow: but woe to him that is alone when he falleth; for he hath not another to help him up.

¹¹Again, if two lie together, then they have heat: but how can one be warm alone?

¹²And if one prevail against him, two shall withstand him; and a threefold cord is not quickly broken.

¹³Better is a poor and a wise child than an old and foolish king, who will no more be admonished.

¹⁴For out of prison he cometh to reign; whereas also he that is born in his kingdom becometh poor.

¹⁵I considered all the living which walk under the sun, with the second child that shall stand up in his stead.

¹⁶There is no end of all the people, even of all that have been before them: they also that come after shall not rejoice in him. Surely this also is vanity and vexation of spirit.