Midweek Devotional: Ecclesiates 4:1
Ecclesiates 4
\nOppression, Toil, Friendlessness\n1 Again I looked and saw all the oppression that was taking place under the sun: I saw the tears of the oppressed\u2014and they have no comforter; power was on the side of their oppressors\u2014and they have no comforter. 2 And I declared that the dead, who had already died, are happier than the living, who are still alive.3But better than both is the one who has never been born, who has not seen the evil that is done under the sun. 4 And I saw that all toil and all achievement spring from one person\u2019s envy of another. This too is meaningless, a chasing after the wind. 5 Fools fold their hands and ruin themselves. 6 Better one handful with tranquility than two handfuls with toil and chasing after the wind. 7 Again I saw something meaningless under the sun:8There was a man all alone; he had neither son nor brother. There was no end to his toil, yet his eyes were not content with his wealth. \u201cFor whom am I toiling,\u201d he asked, \u201cand why am I depriving myself of enjoyment?\u201d This too is meaningless\u2014a miserable business!