Ecclesiastes 4:1

Bible in Basic English (1941)

And again I saw all the cruel things which are done under the sun; there was the weeping of those who have evil done to them, and they had no comforter: and from the hands of the evil-doers there went out power, but they had no comforter.

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Referenced Verses

  • Eccl 3:16 : 16 And again, I saw under the sun, in the place of the judges, that evil was there; and in the place of righteousness, that evil was there.
  • Eccl 5:8 : 8 It is good generally for a country where the land is worked to have a king.
  • Isa 5:7 : 7 For the vine-garden of the Lord of armies is the people of Israel, and the men of Judah are the plant of his delight: and he was looking for upright judging, and there was blood; for righteousness, and there was a cry for help.
  • Lam 1:2 : 2 She is sorrowing bitterly in the night, and her face is wet with weeping; among all her lovers she has no comforter: all her friends have been false to her, they have become her haters.
  • Lam 1:9 : 9 In her skirts were her unclean ways; she gave no thought to her end; and her fall has been a wonder; she has no comforter: see her sorrow, O Lord; for the attacker is lifted up.
  • Mal 2:13 : 13 And this again you do: covering the altar of the Lord with weeping and with grief, so that he gives no more thought to the offering, and does not take it with pleasure from your hand.
  • Mal 3:5 : 5 And I will come near to you for judging; I will quickly be a witness against the wonder-workers, against those who have been untrue in married life, against those who take false oaths; against those who keep back from the servant his payment, and who are hard on the widow and the child without a father, who do not give his rights to the man from a strange country, and have no fear of me, says the Lord of armies.
  • Mal 3:18 : 18 Then you will again see how the upright man is different from the sinner, and the servant of God from him who is not.
  • Matt 26:56 : 56 But all this has taken place so that the writings of the prophets might come true. Then all his disciples went from him in flight.
  • 2 Tim 4:16-17 : 16 At my first meeting with my judges, no one took my part, but all went away from me. May it not be put to their account. 17 But the Lord was by my side and gave me strength; so that through me the news might be given out in full measure, and all the Gentiles might give ear: and I was taken out of the mouth of the lion.
  • Jas 5:4 : 4 See, the money which you falsely kept back from the workers cutting the grass in your field, is crying out against you; and the cries of those who took in your grain have come to the ears of the Lord of armies.
  • Isa 51:23 : 23 And I will put it into the hand of your cruel masters, and of those whose yoke has been hard on you; who have said to your soul, Down on your face! so that we may go over you: and you have given your backs like the earth, even like the street, for them to go over.
  • Isa 59:7 : 7 Their feet go quickly to evil, and they take delight in the death of the upright; their thoughts are thoughts of sin; wasting and destruction are in their ways.
  • Isa 59:13-15 : 13 We have gone against the Lord, and been false to him, turning away from our God, our words have been uncontrolled, and in our hearts are thoughts of deceit. 14 And the right is turned back, and righteousness is far away: for good faith is not to be seen in the public places, and upright behaviour may not come into the town. 15 Yes, faith is gone; and he whose heart is turned from evil comes into the power of the cruel: and the Lord saw it, and he was angry that there was no one to take up their cause.
  • Eccl 7:7 : 7 The wise are troubled by the ways of the cruel, and the giving of money is the destruction of the heart.
  • Exod 1:13-14 : 13 And they gave the children of Israel even harder work to do: 14 And made their lives bitter with hard work, making building-material and bricks, and doing all sorts of work in the fields under the hardest conditions.
  • Exod 1:16 : 16 When you are looking after the Hebrew women in childbirth, if it is a son you are to put him to death; but if it is a daughter, she may go on living.
  • Exod 1:22 : 22 And Pharaoh gave orders to all his people, saying, Every son who comes to birth is to be put into the river, but every daughter may go on living.
  • Exod 2:23-24 : 23 Now after a long time the king of Egypt came to his end: and the children of Israel were crying in their grief under the weight of their work, and their cry for help came to the ears of God. 24 And at the sound of their weeping the agreement which God had made with Abraham and Isaac and Jacob came to his mind.
  • Exod 5:16-19 : 16 They give us no dry stems and they say to us, Make bricks: and they give your servants blows; but it is your people who are in the wrong. 17 But he said, You have no love for work: that is why you say, Let us go and make an offering to the Lord. 18 Go now, get back to your work; no dry stems will be given to you, but you are to make the full number of bricks. 19 Then the responsible men of the children of Israel saw that they were purposing evil when they said, The number of bricks which you have to make every day will be no less than before.
  • Deut 28:33 : 33 The fruit of your land and all the work of your hands will be food for a nation which is strange to you and to your fathers; you will only be crushed down and kept under for ever:
  • Deut 28:48 : 48 For this cause you will become servants to those whom the Lord your God will send against you, without food and drink and clothing, and in need of all things: and he will put a yoke of iron on your neck till he has put an end to you.
  • Judg 4:3 : 3 Then the children of Israel made prayer to the Lord; for he had nine hundred iron war-carriages, and for twenty years he was very cruel to the children of Israel.
  • Judg 10:7-8 : 7 And the wrath of the Lord was burning against Israel, and he gave them up into the hands of the Philistines and into the hands of the children of Ammon. 8 And that year the children of Israel were crushed under their yoke; for eighteen years all the children of Israel on the other side of Jordan, in the land of the Amorites which is in Gilead, were cruelly crushed down.
  • Neh 5:1-5 : 1 Then there was a great outcry from the people and their wives against their countrymen the Jews. 2 For there were some who said, We, our sons and our daughters, are a great number: let us get grain, so that we may have food for our needs. 3 And there were some who said, We are giving our fields and our vine-gardens and our houses for debt: let us get grain because we are in need. 4 And there were others who said, We have given up our fields and our vine-gardens to get money for the king's taxes. 5 But our flesh is the same as the flesh of our countrymen, and our children as their children: and now we are giving our sons and daughters into the hands of others, to be their servants, and some of our daughters are servants even now: and we have no power to put a stop to it; for other men have our fields and our vine-gardens.
  • Job 6:29 : 29 Let your minds be changed, and do not have an evil opinion of me; yes, be changed, for my righteousness is still in me.
  • Job 16:4 : 4 It would not be hard for me to say such things if your souls were in my soul's place; joining words together against you, and shaking my head at you:
  • Job 19:21-22 : 21 Have pity on me, have pity on me, O my friends! for the hand of God is on me. 22 Why are you cruel to me, like God, for ever saying evil against me?
  • Job 24:7-9 : 7 They take their rest at night without clothing, and have no cover in the cold. 8 They are wet with the rain of the mountains, and get into the cracks of the rock for cover. 9 The child without a father is forced from its mother's breast, and they take the young children of the poor for debt. 10 Others go about without clothing, and though they have no food, they get in the grain from the fields. 11 Between the lines of olive-trees they make oil; though they have no drink, they are crushing out the grapes. 12 From the town come sounds of pain from those who are near death, and the soul of the wounded is crying out for help; but God does not take note of their prayer.
  • Job 35:9 : 9 Because the hand of the cruel is hard on them, men are making sounds of grief; they are crying out for help because of the arm of the strong.
  • Ps 10:9-9 : 9 He keeps himself in a secret place like a lion in his hole, waiting to put his hands on the poor man, and pulling him into his net. 10 The upright are crushed and made low, and the feeble are overcome by his strong ones.
  • Ps 12:5 : 5 Because of the crushing of the poor and the weeping of those in need, now will I come to his help, says the Lord; I will give him the salvation which he is desiring.
  • Ps 42:3 : 3 My tears have been my food day and night, while they keep saying to me, Where is your God?
  • Ps 42:9 : 9 I will say to God my Rock, Why have you let me go from your memory? why do I go in sorrow because of the attacks of my haters?
  • Ps 69:20 : 20 My heart is broken by bitter words, I am full of grief; I made a search for some to have pity on me, but there was no one; I had no comforter.
  • Ps 80:5 : 5 You have given them the bread of weeping for food; for their drink you have given them sorrow in great measure.
  • Ps 102:8-9 : 8 My haters say evil of me all day; those who are violent against me make use of my name as a curse. 9 I have had dust for bread and my drink has been mixed with weeping:
  • Ps 142:4 : 4 Looking to my right side, I saw no man who was my friend: I had no safe place; no one had any care for my soul.
  • Prov 19:7 : 7 All the brothers of the poor man are against him: how much more do his friends go far from him! ...
  • Prov 28:3 : 3 A man of wealth who is cruel to the poor is like a violent rain causing destruction of food.
  • Prov 28:15-16 : 15 Like a loud-voiced lion and a wandering bear, is an evil ruler over a poor people. 16 The prince who has no sense is a cruel ruler; but he who has no desire to get profit for himself will have long life.

Similar Verses (AI)

These verses are found using AI-powered semantic similarity based on meaning and context. Results may occasionally include unexpected connections.

  • Eccl 4:7-8
    2 verses
    79%

    7 Then I came back, and I saw an example of what is to no purpose under the sun.

    8 It is one who is by himself, without a second, and without son or brother; but there is no end to all his work, and he has never enough of wealth. For whom, then, am I working and keeping myself from pleasure? This again is to no purpose, and a bitter work.

  • Eccl 8:9-10
    2 verses
    77%

    9 All this have I seen, and have given my heart to all the work which is done under the sun: there is a time when man has power over man for his destruction.

    10 And then I saw evil men put to rest, taken even from the holy place; and they went about and were praised in the town because of what they had done. This again is to no purpose.

  • Eccl 4:2-4
    3 verses
    75%

    2 So my praise was for the dead who have gone to their death, more than for the living who still have life.

    3 Yes, happier than the dead or the living seemed he who has not ever been, who has not seen the evil which is done under the sun.

    4 And I saw that the cause of all the work and of everything which is done well was man's envy of his neighbour. This again is to no purpose and a desire for wind.

  • Eccl 2:10-12
    3 verses
    75%

    10 And nothing which was desired by my eyes did I keep from them; I did not keep any joy from my heart, because my heart took pleasure in all my work, and this was my reward.

    11 Then I saw all the works which my hands had made, and everything I had been working to do; and I saw that all was to no purpose and desire for wind, and there was no profit under the sun.

    12 And I went again in search of wisdom and of foolish ways. What may the man do who comes after the king? The thing which he has done before.

  • Eccl 1:12-14
    3 verses
    74%

    12 I, the Preacher, was king over Israel in Jerusalem.

    13 And I gave my heart to searching out in wisdom all things which are done under heaven: it is a hard thing which God has put on the sons of men to do.

    14 I have seen all the works which are done under the sun; all is to no purpose, and desire for wind.

  • Eccl 4:15-16
    2 verses
    74%

    15 I saw all the living under the sun round the young man who was to be ruler in place of the king.

    16 There was no end of all the people, of all those whose head he was, but they who come later will have no delight in him. This again is to no purpose and desire for wind.

  • Eccl 2:19-23
    5 verses
    73%

    19 And who is to say if that man will be wise or foolish? But he will have power over all my work which I have done and in which I have been wise under the sun. This again is to no purpose.

    20 So my mind was turned to grief for all the trouble I had taken and all my wisdom under the sun.

    21 Because there is a man whose work has been done with wisdom, with knowledge, and with an expert hand; but one who has done nothing for it will have it for his heritage. This again is to no purpose and a great evil.

    22 What does a man get for all his work, and for the weight of care with which he has done his work under the sun?

    23 All his days are sorrow, and his work is full of grief. Even in the night his heart has no rest. This again is to no purpose.

  • 1 There is an evil which I have seen under the sun, and it is hard on men;

  • 16 And again, I saw under the sun, in the place of the judges, that evil was there; and in the place of righteousness, that evil was there.

  • 25 Have I not been weeping for the crushed? and was not my soul sad for him who was in need?

  • 9 Because the hand of the cruel is hard on them, men are making sounds of grief; they are crying out for help because of the arm of the strong.

  • 1 All this I took to heart, and my heart saw it all: that the upright and the wise and their works are in the hand of God; and men may not be certain if it will be love or hate; all is to no purpose before them.

  • 10 I saw the work which God has put on the sons of man.

  • 14 There is a thing which is to no purpose done on the earth: that there are good men to whom is given the same punishment as those who are evil, and there are evil men who get the reward of the good. I say that this again is to no purpose.

  • 5 There is an evil which I have seen under the sun, like an error which comes by chance from a ruler:

  • 8 It is good generally for a country where the land is worked to have a king.

  • 20 My heart is broken by bitter words, I am full of grief; I made a search for some to have pity on me, but there was no one; I had no comforter.

  • 3 What is a man profited by all his work which he does under the sun?

  • 17 So I was hating life, because everything under the sun was evil to me: all is to no purpose and desire for wind.

  • 9 That which has been, is that which is to be, and that which has been done, is that which will be done, and there is no new thing under the sun.

  • 22 So I saw that there is nothing better than for a man to have joy in his work--because that is his reward. Who will make him see what will come after him?

  • 16 For these things I am weeping; my eye is streaming with water; because the comforter who might give me new life is far from me: my children are made waste, because the hater is strong.

  • 13 This again I have seen under the sun as wisdom and it seemed great to me.

  • Eccl 8:16-17
    2 verses
    69%

    16 When I gave my mind to the knowledge of wisdom and to seeing the business which is done on the earth (and there are those whose eyes see not sleep by day or by night),

    17 Then I saw all the work of God, and that man may not get knowledge of the work which is done under the sun; because, if a man gives hard work to the search he will not get knowledge, and even if the wise man seems to be coming to the end of his search, still he will be without knowledge.

  • 13 And I saw the destruction of his wealth by an evil chance; and when he became the father of a son he had nothing in his hand.

  • 16 All his days are in the dark, and he has much sorrow, pain, disease, and trouble.

  • 14 In the day of wealth have joy, but in the day of evil take thought: God has put the one against the other, so that man may not be certain what will be after him.

  • 3 This is evil in all things which are done under the sun: that there is one fate for all, and the hearts of the sons of men are full of evil; while they have life their hearts are foolish, and after that--to the dead.

  • 17 And I gave my heart to getting knowledge of wisdom, and of the ways of the foolish. And I saw that this again was desire for wind.

  • 21 Give ear to the voice of my grief; I have no comforter; all my haters have news of my troubles, they are glad because you have done it: let the day of fate come when they will be like me.

  • 4 For this cause I have said, Let your eyes be turned away from me in my bitter weeping; I will not be comforted for the wasting of the daughter of my people.

  • 18 There the prisoners are at peace together; the voice of the overseer comes not again to their ears.

  • 25 Who may take food or have pleasure without him?

  • 4 For this reason the law is feeble and decisions are not effected: for the upright man is circled round by evil-doers; because of which right is twisted.

  • 12 I am certain that there is nothing better for a man than to be glad, and to do good while life is in him.

  • 15 Then said I in my heart: As it comes to the foolish man, so will it come to me; so why have I been wise overmuch? Then I said in my heart: This again is to no purpose.