Ecclesiastes 4:1
BSB · Public Domain (CC0)“Again 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.”
A short, plain-language explanation of Ecclesiastes 4:1 goes here — the kind of answer a reader (or an AI assistant) can quote in one breath. Original meaning coming soon.
“Again 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.”
Berean Standard Bible · Public Domain (CC0)“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.”
King James Version · Public Domain“Then I returned and saw 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.”
American Standard Version · Public Domain“And I have turned, and I see all the oppressions that are done under the sun, and lo, the tear of the oppressed, and they have no comforter; and at the hand of their oppressors <FI>is<Fi> power, and they have no comforter.”
Young's Literal Translation · Public DomainOther passages that echo Ecclesiastes 4:1 — 24 related verses from the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge.
- Exodus 1:13They worked the Israelites ruthlessly
- Exodus 1:16“When you help the Hebrew women give birth, observe them on the birthstools. If the child is a son, kill him; but if it is a daughter, let her live.”
- Exodus 1:22Then Pharaoh commanded all his people: “Every son born to the Hebrews you must throw into the Nile, but every daughter you may allow to live.”
- Exodus 2:23After a long time, the king of Egypt died. The Israelites groaned and cried out under their burden of slavery, and their cry for deliverance from bondage ascended to God.
- Exodus 5:16No straw has been given to your servants, yet we are told, ‘Make bricks!’ Look, your servants are being beaten, but the fault is with your own people.”
- Exodus 5:18Now get to work. You will be given no straw, yet you must deliver the full quota of bricks.”
- Deuteronomy 28:33A people you do not know will eat the produce of your land and of all your toil. All your days you will be oppressed and crushed.
- Deuteronomy 28:48you will serve your enemies the LORD will send against you in famine, thirst, nakedness, and destitution. He will place an iron yoke on your neck until He has destroyed you.
- Judges 4:3Then the Israelites cried out to the LORD, because Jabin had nine hundred chariots of iron, and he had harshly oppressed the Israelites for twenty years.
- Judges 10:7So the anger of the LORD burned against Israel, and He sold them into the hands of the Philistines and Ammonites,
- Nehemiah 5:1About that time there was a great outcry from the people and their wives against their fellow Jews.
- Job 6:29Reconsider; do not be unjust. Reconsider, for my righteousness is at stake.
- Job 9:24The earth is given into the hand of the wicked; He blindfolds its judges. If it is not He, then who is it?
- Job 16:4I could also speak like you if you were in my place; I could heap up words against you and shake my head at you.
- Job 19:21Have pity on me, my friends, have pity, for the hand of God has struck me.
- Job 24:7Without clothing, they spend the night naked; they have no covering against the cold.
- Job 24:12From the city, men groan, and the souls of the wounded cry out, yet God charges no one with wrongdoing.
- Job 35:9Men cry out under great oppression; they plead for relief from the arm of the mighty.
- Psalms 10:9He lies in wait like a lion in a thicket; he lurks to seize the oppressed; he catches the lowly in his net.
- Psalms 12:5“For the cause of the oppressed and for the groaning of the needy, I will now arise,” says the LORD. “I will bring safety to him who yearns.”
- Psalms 42:3My tears have been my food both day and night, while men ask me all day long, “Where is your God?”
- Psalms 42:9I say to God my Rock, “Why have You forgotten me? Why must I walk in sorrow because of the enemy’s oppression?”
- Psalms 69:20Insults have broken my heart, and I am in despair. I looked for sympathy, but there was none, for comforters, but I found no one.
- Psalms 69:21They poisoned my food with gall and gave me vinegar to quench my thirst.
Cross-reference data: Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (public domain) via OpenBible.info (CC BY 4.0).