SO I returned, and considered all the oppressions that are done under the sun: and behold the tears of such as were oppressed, and they had no comforter; and on the side of their oppressors there was power; but they had no comforter.
2 Wherefore I praised the dead which are already dead more than the living which are yet alive.
3 Yea, better is he than both they, which hath not yet been, who hath not seen the evil work that is done under the sun.
4 Again, I considered all travail, and every right work, that for this a man is envied of his neighbour. This is also vanity and vexation of spirit.
5 The fool foldeth his hands together, and eateth his own flesh.
6 Better is an handful with quietness, than both the hands full with travail and vexation of spirit.
7 Then I returned, and I saw vanity under the sun.
8 There is one alone, and there is not a second; yea, he hath neither child nor brother: yet is there no end of all his labour; neither is his eye satisfied with riches; neither saith he, For whom do I labour, and bereave my soul of good? This is also vanity, yea, it is a sore travail.
9 Two are better than one; because they have a good reward for their labour.
10 For if they fall, the one will lift up his fellow: but woe to him that is alone when he falleth; for he hath not another to help him up.
11 Again, if two lie together, then they have heat: but how can one be warm alone?
12 And if one prevail against him, two shall withstand him; and a threefold cord is not quickly broken.
13 Better is a poor and a wise child than an old and foolish king, who will no more be admonished.
14 For out of prison he cometh to reign; whereas also he that is born in his kingdom becometh poor.
15 I considered all the living which walk under the sun, with the second child that shall stand up in his stead.
16 There is no end of all the people, even of all that have been before them: they also that come after shall not rejoice in him. Surely this also is vanity and vexation of spirit.

1So I returned, and considered all the oppressions that are done vnder the sunne; & behold the teares of such as were oppressed, and they had no comforter: and on the side of their oppressours there was power, but they had no comforter.

2Wherefore I praised the dead which are already dead, more then the liuing which are yet aliue.

3Yea better is he then both they, which hath not yet been, who hath not seene the euill worke that is done vnder the Sunne.

4 Againe I considered all trauaile, and euery right worke, that for this a man is enuied of his neighbour: this is also vanitie, and vexation of spirit.

5The foole foldeth his hands together, and eateth his owne flesh.

6Better is an handfull with quietnesse, then both the hands full with trauell and vexation of spirit.

7 Then I returned, and I saw vanitie vnder the Sunne.

8There is one alone, and there is not a second; yea, he hath neither childe nor brother: yet is there no end of all his labour, neither is his eye satisfied with riches, neither sayth hee, For whom doe I labour, and bereaue my soule of good? this is also vanitie, yea it is a sore trauell.

9 Two are better then one; because they haue a good reward for their labour.

10For if they fall, the one will lift vp his fellow; but woe to him that is alone, when he falleth: for he hath not another to helpe him vp.

11Againe, if two lye together, then they haue heate; but howe can one be warme alone?

12And if one preuaile against him, two shall withstand him; and a threefold coard is not quickly broken.

13 Better is a poore and a wise child, then an old and foolish king who will no more be admonished.

14For out of prison hee commeth to raigne, whereas also he that is borne in his kingdome, becommeth poore.

15I considered all the liuing which walke vnder the sunne, with the second child that shall stand vp in his stead.

16There is no end of all the people, euen of all that haue beene before them: they also that come after, shall not reioyce in him: surely this also is vanitie, and vexation of spirit.

I == Eccl 3:16 ; 5:8

II == Job 3:17

III == Job 3:11 , 16 , 21 ; Eccl 6:3

V == Prov 6:10 ; 24:33

VI == Prov 15:16-17 ; 16:8

VIII == Ps. 39:6 ; Prov 27:20 ; 1st John 2:16

1 Again I considered all the oppressions that take place under the sun: the tears of the victims with none to comfort them! From the hand of their oppressors comes violence, and there is none to comfort them!

2 And those now dead, I declared more fortunate in death than are the living to be still alive.

3 And better off than both is the yet unborn, who has not seen the wicked work that is done under the sun.

4 Then I saw that all toil and skillful work is the rivalry of one man for another. This also is vanity and a chase after wind.

5 "The fool folds his arms and consumes his own flesh" - 

6 Better is one handful with tranquility than two with toil and a chase after wind!

7 Again I found this vanity under the sun:

8 a solitary man with no companion; with neither son nor brother. Yet there is no end to all his toil, and riches do not satisfy his greed. "For whom do I toil and deprive myself of good things?" This also is vanity and a worthless task.

9 Two are better than one: they get a good wage for their labor.

10 If the one falls, the other will lift up his companion. Woe to the solitary man! For if he should fall, he has no one to lift him up.

11 So also, if two sleep together, they keep each other warm. How can one alone keep warm?

12 Where a lone man may be overcome, two together can resist. A three-ply cord is not easily broken.

13 Better is a poor but wise youth than an old but foolish king who no longer knows caution;

14 for from a prison house one comes forth to rule, since even in his royalty he was poor at birth.

15 Then I saw all those who are to live and move about under the sun with the heir apparent who will succeed to his place.

16 There is no end to all these people, to all over whom he takes precedence; yet the later generations will not applaud him. This also is vanity and a chase after wind.

17 Guard your step when you go to the house of God. Let your approach be obedience, rather than the fools' offering of sacrifice; for they know not how to keep from doing evil.

v 1-3. This is somewhat a continuation of the thought in 3:22, that a man just as well enjoy life because of all the further injustices of oppressions. Solomon sees the lot of those with no comforter as being better off dead or not even to have been born.

v 4-6. Prosperity fosters envy, but it is better to be content with what we have than to envy those who are self destructive by oppressing others.

v 7,8. Life is meaningless for an individual to labor out of a sense of greed.

v 9-12. In contrast, there are many advantages and mutual benefits of joint effort.

v 13-16. It is better to be poor, without influence, than to be powerful an influential. This is illustrated by someone like Joseph, who came out of prison to reign. He becomes very popular, but that is short lived as another generation doesn’t honor him. So like laboring for wealth in envy and greed, popularity also becomes meaningless.