Verse (Click for Chapter) New International Version And I declared that the dead, who had already died, are happier than the living, who are still alive. New Living Translation So I concluded that the dead are better off than the living. English Standard Version And I thought the dead who are already dead more fortunate than the living who are still alive. Berean Standard Bible So I admired the dead, who had already died, above the living, who are still alive. King James Bible Wherefore I praised the dead which are already dead more than the living which are yet alive. New King James Version Therefore I praised the dead who were already dead, More than the living who are still alive. New American Standard Bible So I congratulated the dead who are already dead, more than the living who are still living. NASB 1995 So I congratulated the dead who are already dead more than the living who are still living. NASB 1977 So I congratulated the dead who are already dead more than the living who are still living. Legacy Standard Bible So I lauded the dead who are already dead more than the living who are still living. Amplified Bible So I congratulated and thought more fortunate are those who are already dead than the living who are still living. Christian Standard Bible So I commended the dead, who have already died, more than the living, who are still alive. Holman Christian Standard Bible So I admired the dead, who have already died, more than the living, who are still alive. American Standard Version Wherefore I praised the dead that have been long dead more than the living that are yet alive; Aramaic Bible in Plain English And I praised the dead who have died long ago, more than the living, those who are alive now Brenton Septuagint Translation and I praised all the dead that had already died more than the living, as many as are alive until now. Contemporary English Version I said to myself, "The dead are better off than the living. Douay-Rheims Bible And I praised the dead rather than the living: English Revised Version Wherefore I praised the dead which are already dead more than the living which are yet alive; GOD'S WORD® Translation I congratulate the dead, who have already died, rather than the living, who still have to carry on. Good News Translation I envy those who are dead and gone; they are better off than those who are still alive. International Standard Version So I commended the dead who had already died as being happier than the living who are still alive. JPS Tanakh 1917 Wherefore I praised the dead that are already dead more than the living that are yet alive; Literal Standard Version And I am praising the dead who have already died above the living who are yet alive. Majority Standard Bible So I admired the dead, who had already died, above the living, who are still alive. New American Bible And those now dead, I declared more fortunate in death than are the living to be still alive. NET Bible So I considered those who are dead and gone more fortunate than those who are still alive. New Revised Standard Version And I thought the dead, who have already died, more fortunate than the living, who are still alive; New Heart English Bible Therefore I praised the dead who have been long dead more than the living who are yet alive. Webster's Bible Translation Wherefore I praised the dead who are already dead more than the living who are yet alive. World English Bible Therefore I praised the dead who have been long dead more than the living who are yet alive. Young's Literal Translation And I am praising the dead who have already died above the living who are yet alive. Additional Translations ... Audio Bible Context The Evil of Oppression1Again 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. 2So I admired the dead, who had already died, above the living, who are still alive. 3But better than both is he who has not yet existed, who has not seen the evil that is done under the sun.… Cross References Job 3:11 Why did I not perish at birth; why did I not die as I came from the womb? Ecclesiastes 2:17 So I hated life, because the work that is done under the sun was grievous to me. For everything is futile and a pursuit of the wind. Ecclesiastes 7:1 A good name is better than fine perfume, and one's day of death is better than his day of birth. Jeremiah 22:10 Do not weep for the dead king; do not mourn his loss. Weep bitterly for the one who is exiled, for he will never return to see his native land. Treasury of Scripture Why I praised the dead which are already dead more than the living which are yet alive. Ecclesiastes 2:17 Therefore I hated life; because the work that is wrought under the sun is grievous unto me: for all is vanity and vexation of spirit. Ecclesiastes 9:4-6 For to him that is joined to all the living there is hope: for a living dog is better than a dead lion… Job 3:17-21 There the wicked cease from troubling; and there the weary be at rest… Jump to Previous Alive Already Congratulated Dead Death Declared Died Fortunate Happier Life Praise Praised Praising Thought WhereforeJump to Next Alive Already Congratulated Dead Death Declared Died Fortunate Happier Life Praise Praised Praising Thought WhereforeEcclesiastes 4 1. vanity is increased unto men by oppression4. by envy 5. by idleness 7. by covetousness 9. by solitariness 13. by willfulness (2) I praised the dead.--Job 3:11; Exodus 32:32; 1Kings 19:4; Jeremiah 20:14; Jonah 4:3. The word which is translated "yet" in this verse belongs to later Hebrew, and does not occur elsewhere in the Old Testament,Verse 2. - In view of these patent wrongs Koheleth loses all enjoyment of life. Wherefore (and) I praised the dead which are already dead; or, who died long ago, and thus have escaped the miseries which they would have had to endure. It must, indeed, have been a bitter experience which elicited such an avowal. To die and be forgotten an Oriental would look upon as the most calamitous of destinies. More than the living which are yet alive. For these have before them the prospect of a long endurance of oppression and suffering (comp. Ecclesiastes 7:1; Job 3:13, etc.). The Greek gnome says - "Better to die than lead a wretched life." The Septuagint version is scarcely a rendering of our present text: "Above the living, as many as are living until now." Hebrew So Iאֲנִ֛י (’ă·nî) Pronoun - first person common singular Strong's 589: I admired וְשַׁבֵּ֧חַ (wə·šab·bê·aḥ) Conjunctive waw | Verb - Piel - Infinitive absolute Strong's 7623: To address in a, loud tone, loud, to pacify the dead, הַמֵּתִ֖ים (ham·mê·ṯîm) Article | Verb - Qal - Participle - masculine plural Strong's 4191: To die, to kill who had already שֶׁכְּבָ֣ר (šek·kə·ḇār) Pronoun - relative | Adverb Strong's 3528: Extent of time, a great while, long ago, formerly, hitherto died, מֵ֑תוּ (mê·ṯū) Verb - Qal - Perfect - third person common plural Strong's 4191: To die, to kill above מִן־ (min-) Preposition Strong's 4480: A part of, from, out of the living, הַ֣חַיִּ֔ים (ha·ḥay·yîm) Article | Adjective - masculine plural Strong's 2416: Alive, raw, fresh, strong, life who אֲשֶׁ֛ר (’ă·šer) Pronoun - relative Strong's 834: Who, which, what, that, when, where, how, because, in order that are still עֲדֶֽנָה׃ (‘ă·ḏe·nāh) Adverb | third person feminine singular Strong's 5728: Hitherto, still alive. חַיִּ֖ים (ḥay·yîm) Adjective - masculine plural Strong's 2416: Alive, raw, fresh, strong, life Links Ecclesiastes 4:2 NIVEcclesiastes 4:2 NLT Ecclesiastes 4:2 ESV Ecclesiastes 4:2 NASB Ecclesiastes 4:2 KJV Ecclesiastes 4:2 BibleApps.com Ecclesiastes 4:2 Biblia Paralela Ecclesiastes 4:2 Chinese Bible Ecclesiastes 4:2 French Bible Ecclesiastes 4:2 Catholic Bible OT Poetry: Ecclesiastes 4:2 Therefore I praised the dead who have (Ecclesiast. Ec Ecc Eccles.) |
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