Ecclesiastes 4:2-15

²So I thought that those who are already dead are more fortunate than those who are still alive.

³And those who have not been born yet are more fortunate than those who are still alive and those who have died, because those who have not been born have not seen all the evil things that are done on the earth.

⁴I also thought about all the hard work that people do and the skills that they have. And I thought about how they compete with each other because they are envious of others, and I concluded that this also is something that is not accomplishing anything useful, like chasing the wind.

⁵Foolish people refuse to work; they sit idly, with their hands folded, and do not work. So they ruin themselves.

⁶So I say, “It is better to be content with not having much money, than to work very hard and try to get a lot of money, which is as useless as chasing the wind.”

⁷I thought about something else that happens on the earth MTY that seems senseless.

⁸There are men who live alone; they do not have a wife or children or any brothers living with them; every day they work very hard, without stopping, to get a lot of money, but they are never satisfied with the things that they have. They never ask themselves, “Why am I working very hard to earn more money? Why am I not doing things that would cause me to be happy?” What they do also seems senseless.

⁹Having someone work with you is better than being by yourself all the time. If you have a friend, he can help you to do your work.

¹⁰If you fall down, he can help you get up again. But if you fall down when you are alone, it will be difficult for you, because there will,be no one to help you stand up.

¹¹Similarly, if two people sleep together, they can keep each other warm. But someone who sleeps alone will certainly not RHQ be warm.

¹²Someone who is alone can easily be attacked and defeated by another person, but two people can help each other and ◄resist/defend themselves against► someone who attacks them. Three people can defend themselves even more easily, like a rope that is made from three cords is harder to break than a rope made from two cords.

¹³A young man who is poor but wise is a better person than a foolish old king who refuses to pay attention when people try to give him good advice.

¹⁴It is possible for a young man like that to succeed and some day become king, even if his parents were poor or even if he was in prison some of the time.

¹⁵But then some other young man becomes king, and everyone ◄starts to support/is pleased with► him.