Ecclesiastes 4:3

Linguistic Bible Translation from Source Texts

But better than both is the one who has not yet been born, who has not seen the evil deeds that are done under the sun.

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Other Translations

Referenced Verses

  • Luke 23:29 : 29 For look, the days are coming when they will say, 'Blessed are the barren women, the wombs that never bore, and the breasts that never nursed.'
  • Job 3:10-16 : 10 Because it did not shut the doors of my mother's womb, nor hide trouble from my eyes. 11 Why did I not die at birth, come out from the womb and expire? 12 Why were there knees to receive me, or breasts that I should nurse? 13 For now I would have lain down and been quiet; I would have slept, then I would be at rest. 14 With kings and counselors of the earth who built ruins for themselves. 15 Or with princes who had gold, who filled their houses with silver. 16 Or why was I not like a stillborn child, like infants who never saw the light?
  • Job 3:22 : 22 Who rejoice exceedingly and are glad when they find the grave.
  • Job 10:18-19 : 18 Why then did You bring me out of the womb? I wish I had died and no eye had seen me. 19 If only I had never existed, carried straight from the womb to the grave.
  • Ps 55:6-9 : 6 Fear and trembling have come upon me, and horror has overwhelmed me. 7 I said, 'Oh, that I had wings like a dove! I would fly away and find rest.' 8 See, I would flee far away; I would stay in the wilderness forever. Selah. 9 I would hurry to a place of refuge, away from the stormy wind and tempest. 10 Confuse, O Lord, and divide their speech, for I have seen violence and strife in the city. 11 Day and night they surround it on its walls, and trouble and wickedness are within it.
  • Eccl 1:14 : 14 I have seen all the deeds that are done under the sun; they are all meaningless, a chasing after the wind.
  • Eccl 2:17 : 17 So I hated life, because the work done under the sun was grievous to me. For everything is meaningless, a chasing after the wind.
  • Eccl 6:3-5 : 3 A man may father a hundred children and live many years; yet no matter how long he lives, if he cannot enjoy life's good things and receives no proper burial, I say that a stillborn child is better off than he. 4 For it comes in vain and departs in darkness, and its name is covered in darkness. 5 Though it has never seen the sun or known anything, it has more rest than that man.
  • Jer 9:2-3 : 2 They bend their tongues like a bow to shoot lies, not for truth do they grow strong in the land; they go from one evil to another, and they do not know me, declares the Lord. 3 Beware of your neighbor; do not trust even a brother. Every brother utterly deceives, and every friend spreads slander.
  • Jer 20:17-18 : 17 For he did not kill me in the womb, so my mother would have been my grave, and her womb forever pregnant. 18 Why did I ever come out of the womb to see trouble and sorrow and to end my days in shame?
  • Matt 24:19 : 19 Woe to pregnant women and nursing mothers in those days!

Similar Verses (AI)

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

  • Eccl 4:2
    83%

    2And I praised the dead who had already died, more than the living who are still alive.

  • Eccl 3:22
    79%

    22So I saw that there is nothing better than for a person to rejoice in their work, for that is their lot. Who can bring them to see what will happen after them?

  • Eccl 4:4
    78%

    4And I saw that all toil and all skill in work are driven by one person’s envy of another. This too is meaningless, a chasing after the wind.

  • Eccl 6:5-6
    2 verses
    78%

    5Though it has never seen the sun or known anything, it has more rest than that man.

    6Even if someone lives a thousand years twice over but does not enjoy their prosperity, do not all go to the same place?

  • Eccl 4:15-16
    2 verses
    77%

    15I saw all the living who walk under the sun following the youth, the second one, who replaces him.

    16There is no end to all the people who were before them, yet those who come later will not rejoice in him. This too is meaningless, a chasing after the wind.

  • Eccl 3:12
    77%

    12I know that there is nothing better for people than to rejoice and to do good while they live.

  • Eccl 6:8-12
    5 verses
    77%

    8What advantage has the wise person over the fool? What does the poor person gain by knowing how to conduct themselves before the living?

    9Better is what the eyes see than the wandering of desire. This too is meaningless and a chasing after the wind.

    10Whatever exists has already been given its name, and it is known what mankind is; no one can contend with someone who is stronger.

    11The more words, the more meaningless—and what advantage does that bring to anyone?

    12For who knows what is good for a person in life, during the few days of their fleeting life? They pass like a shadow. Who can tell them what will happen under the sun after they are gone?

  • Eccl 6:3
    77%

    3A man may father a hundred children and live many years; yet no matter how long he lives, if he cannot enjoy life's good things and receives no proper burial, I say that a stillborn child is better off than he.

  • Eccl 1:3
    76%

    3What does man gain from all his labor at which he toils under the sun?

  • Eccl 2:24-25
    2 verses
    76%

    24There is nothing better for a person than to eat and drink and find enjoyment in their work. This too, I realized, is from the hand of God.

    25For who can eat or who can enjoy life apart from Him?

  • Eccl 2:21-22
    2 verses
    76%

    21For there is a person who labors with wisdom, knowledge, and skill, but then must leave everything to someone who has not worked for it. This too is meaningless and a great misfortune.

    22What does a person gain from all their labor and from the striving of their heart under the sun?

  • Eccl 4:6-9
    4 verses
    75%

    6Better one handful with tranquility than two handfuls with toil and chasing after the wind.

    7Again, I turned and saw meaninglessness under the sun.

    8There was a man all alone. He had no son or brother. There was no end to his toil, yet his eyes were not content with his wealth. 'For whom am I toiling,' he asked, 'and why am I depriving myself of enjoyment?' This too is meaningless—a miserable business!

    9Two are better than one, because they have a good return for their labor.

  • Eccl 1:9-10
    2 verses
    75%

    9What has been will be again, what has been done will be done again; there is nothing new under the sun.

    10Is there anything of which one can say, 'Look! This is something new'? It was here already, long ago; it was here before our time.

  • Eccl 2:11-13
    3 verses
    75%

    11Yet when I considered all that my hands had done and the toil I had expended in doing it, behold, everything was meaningless—a chasing after the wind. There was nothing to be gained under the sun.

    12So I turned my attention to consider wisdom, madness, and folly. For what can anyone do who comes after the king? Only what has already been done.

    13I saw that wisdom is better than folly, just as light is better than darkness.

  • Eccl 2:16-19
    4 verses
    75%

    16For the wise, like the fool, will not be remembered forever; in the days to come, everything will be forgotten. How does the wise person die? Just like the fool!

    17So I hated life, because the work done under the sun was grievous to me. For everything is meaningless, a chasing after the wind.

    18I hated all my toil under the sun because I must leave it to the one who comes after me.

    19And who knows whether that person will be wise or foolish? Yet they will rule over all the fruit of my labor that I have worked for under the sun. This too is meaningless.

  • Eccl 1:14
    75%

    14I have seen all the deeds that are done under the sun; they are all meaningless, a chasing after the wind.

  • Eccl 7:2
    75%

    2It is better to go to a house of mourning than to a house of feasting, because death is the destination of everyone, and the living should take it to heart.

  • Eccl 3:15
    74%

    15Whatever has already been, and what will be has already been; and God seeks what has been pursued.

  • Eccl 9:3-4
    2 verses
    74%

    3This is the distressing thing about everything that happens under the sun: the same fate befalls all. Moreover, the hearts of humans are full of evil, and madness resides in their hearts during their lives; and after that, they join the dead.

    4Anyone who is among the living has hope—even a live dog is better than a dead lion!

  • Eccl 8:17
    74%

    17then I saw all the work of God, that no one can understand the work that is done under the sun. Despite all their efforts to search it out, no one can comprehend it. Even if the wise claim to know, they cannot truly understand it.

  • Eccl 8:9-10
    2 verses
    74%

    9I observed all this as I considered all the work done under the sun: a time when one man has power over another to hurt them.

    10Then I saw the wicked buried, who used to go in and out of the holy place, but now they are forgotten in the city where they acted this way. This too is meaningless.

  • Eccl 6:1
    74%

    1There is an evil that I have seen under the sun, and it is great upon humanity.

  • Eccl 11:8
    74%

    8For if a person lives many years, let him rejoice in all of them, but let him remember the days of darkness, for they will be many. All that comes is meaningless.

  • Eccl 3:9-10
    2 verses
    74%

    9What does the worker gain from all their toil?

    10I have seen the burden that God has laid on the human race.

  • Eccl 7:14-15
    2 verses
    73%

    14When times are good, be joyful; but when times are bad, consider this: God has made one as well as the other. Therefore, no one can discover anything about their future.

    15In my fleeting life, I have seen it all: The righteous perishing in their righteousness, and the wicked living long in their wickedness.

  • Eccl 8:14-15
    2 verses
    73%

    14There is a futility that takes place on the earth: righteous people receive what the wicked deserve, and wicked people receive what the righteous deserve. I said, 'This too is vanity.'

    15So I praised enjoyment, because there is nothing better for a person under the sun than to eat, drink, and be glad. This will accompany them in their toil through the days of life that God has given them under the sun.

  • Eccl 4:13
    73%

    13Better a poor but wise youth than an old but foolish king who no longer knows how to heed a warning.

  • Eccl 9:13
    73%

    13I also saw this example of wisdom under the sun, and it seemed great to me.