Ecclesiastes 4
Clementine Vulgate, 1598Translation
Clementine Vulgate, 1598
Berean Standard Bible
1[Verti me ad alia, et vidi calumnias quæ sub sole geruntur, et lacrimas innocentium, et neminem consolatorem, nec posse resistere eorum violentiæ, cunctorum auxilio destitutos,
1Again I looked, and I considered all the oppression taking place under the sun. I saw the tears of the oppressed, and they had no comforter; the power lay in the hands of their oppressors, and there was no comforter.
2et laudavi magis mortuos quam viventes;
2So I admired the dead, who had already died, above the living, who are still alive.
3et feliciorem utroque judicavi qui necdum natus est, nec vidit mala quæ sub sole fiunt.
3But better than both is he who has not yet existed, who has not seen the evil that is done under the sun.
4Rursum contemplatus sum omnes labores hominum, et industrias animadverti patere invidiæ proximi; et in hoc ergo vanitas et cura superflua est.
4I saw that all labor and success spring from a man’s envy of his neighbor. This too is futile and a pursuit of the wind.
5Stultus complicat manus suas, et comedit carnes suas, dicens:
5The fool folds his hands and consumes his own flesh.
6Melior est pugillus cum requie, quam plena utraque manus cum labore et afflictione animi.
6Better one handful with tranquility than two handfuls with toil and pursuit of the wind.
7Considerans, reperi et aliam vanitatem sub sole.
7Again, I saw futility under the sun.
8Unus est, et secundum non habet, non filium, non fratrem, et tamen laborare non cessat, nec satiantur oculi ejus divitiis; nec recogitat, dicens: Cui laboro, et fraudo animam meam bonis? In hoc quoque vanitas est et afflictio pessima.]
8There is a man all alone, without even a son or brother. And though there is no end to his labor, his eyes are still not content with his wealth: “For whom do I toil and bereave my soul of enjoyment?” This too is futile—a miserable task.
9[Melius est ergo duos esse simul quam unum; habent enim emolumentum societatis suæ.
9Two are better than one, because they have a good return for their labor.
10Si unus ceciderit, ab altero fulcietur. Væ soli, quia cum ceciderit, non habet sublevantem se.
10For if one falls down, his companion can lift him up; but pity the one who falls without another to help him up!
11Et si dormierint duo, fovebuntur mutuo; unus quomodo calefiet?
11Again, if two lie down together, they will keep warm; but how can one keep warm alone?
12Et si quispiam prævaluerit contra unum, duo resistunt ei; funiculus triplex difficile rumpitur.
12And though one may be overpowered, two can resist. Moreover, a cord of three strands is not quickly broken.
13Melior est puer pauper et sapiens, rege sene et stulto, qui nescit prævidere in posterum.
13Better is a poor but wise youth than an old but foolish king who no longer knows how to take a warning.
14Quod de carcere catenisque interdum quis egrediatur ad regnum; et alius, natus in regno, inopia consumatur.
14For the youth has come from the prison to the kingship, though he was born poor in his own kingdom.
15Vidi cunctos viventes qui ambulant sub sole cum adolescente secundo, qui consurget pro eo.
15I saw that all who lived and walked under the sun followed this second one, the youth who succeeded the king.
16Infinitus numerus est populi omnium qui fuerunt ante eum, et qui postea futuri sunt non lætabuntur in eo; sed et hoc vanitas et afflictio spiritus.]
16There is no limit to all the people who were before them. Yet the successor will not be celebrated by those who come even later. This too is futile and a pursuit of the wind.
17[Custodi pedem tuum ingrediens domum Dei, et appropinqua ut audias. Multo enim melior est obedientia quam stultorum victimæ, qui nesciunt quid faciunt mali.]
no verse 17 in this text
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