NKJV

NKJV

Click to Change

Return to Top

Return to Top

Printer Icon

Print

Copy
Copy Options
Format by: Verse Paragraph
Strong's
Red Letter
Audio Bibles
The Blue Letter Bible

Ecclesiastes 4 :: New King James Version (NKJV)

toggle collapse
Choose a new font size and typeface
Audio Bibles
The Uselessness of Selfish Toil
Unchecked Copy BoxEcc 4:1 - Then I returned and considered all the oppression that is done under the sun:

And look! The tears of the oppressed,
But they have no comforter—
On the side of their oppressors there is power,
But they have no comforter.
Unchecked Copy BoxEcc 4:2 - Therefore I praised the dead who were already dead,
More than the living who are still alive.
Unchecked Copy BoxEcc 4:3 - Yet, better than both is he who has never existed,
Who has not seen the evil work that is done under the sun.
The Vanity of Selfish Toil
Unchecked Copy BoxEcc 4:4 - Again, I saw that for all toil and every skillful work a man is envied by his neighbor. This also is vanity and grasping for the wind.
Unchecked Copy BoxEcc 4:5 - The fool folds his hands
And consumes his own flesh.
Unchecked Copy BoxEcc 4:6 - Better a handful with quietness
Than both hands full, together with toil and grasping for the wind.
Unchecked Copy BoxEcc 4:7 - Then I returned, and I saw vanity under the sun:
Unchecked Copy BoxEcc 4:8 - There is one alone, without companion:
He has neither son nor brother.
Yet there is no end to all his labors,
Nor is his eye satisfied with riches.
But he never asks,
“For whom do I toil and deprive myself of good?”
This also is vanity and a grave misfortune.
The Value of a Friend
Unchecked Copy BoxEcc 4:9 - Two are better than one,
Because they have a good reward for their labor.
Unchecked Copy BoxEcc 4:10 - For if they fall, one will lift up his companion.
But woe to him who is alone when he falls,
For he has no one to help him up.
Unchecked Copy BoxEcc 4:11 - Again, if two lie down together, they will keep warm;
But how can one be warm alone?
Unchecked Copy BoxEcc 4:12 - Though one may be overpowered by another, two can withstand him.
And a threefold cord is not quickly broken.
Popularity Passes Away
Unchecked Copy BoxEcc 4:13 - Better a poor and wise youth
Than an old and foolish king who will be admonished no more.
Unchecked Copy BoxEcc 4:14 - For he comes out of prison to be king,
Although he was born poor in his kingdom.
Unchecked Copy BoxEcc 4:15 - I saw all the living who walk under the sun;
They were with the second youth who stands in his place.
Unchecked Copy BoxEcc 4:16 - There was no end of all the people over whom he was made king;
Yet those who come afterward will not rejoice in him.
Surely this also is vanity and grasping for the wind.
NKJV

New King James Version, © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. All rights reserved. Used by permission.

The text of the New King James Version (NKJV) appearing on or deriving from this or any other web page is for personal use only. Any other use of the NKJV must be in conformity with the Quotation Policy for the New King James Version. For more information about the New King James Version, the Quotation Policy, and for inquiries about permission to use the New King James Version, go to Thomas Nelson, Inc..

For more information on this translation, see the NKJV Preface.

BLB Searches
Search the Bible
NKJV
 [?]

Advanced Options

Other Searches

Multi-Verse Retrieval
x
NKJV

Daily Devotionals
x

Blue Letter Bible offers several daily devotional readings in order to help you refocus on Christ and the Gospel of His peace and righteousness.

Daily Bible Reading Plans
x

Recognizing the value of consistent reflection upon the Word of God in order to refocus one's mind and heart upon Christ and His Gospel of peace, we provide several reading plans designed to cover the entire Bible in a year.

One-Year Plans

Two-Year Plan