Ecclésiaste 4.11
New International Version

L’oppression et la solitude

¹ Again I looked and saw all the oppression that was taking place under the sun:
I saw the tears of the oppressed —
and they have no comforter;
power was on the side of their oppressors —
and they have no comforter.

² And I declared that the dead,
who had already died,
are happier than the living,
who are still alive.

³ But better than both
is the one who has never been born,
who has not seen the evil
that is done under the sun.
⁴ And I saw that all toil and all achievement spring from one person’s envy of another. This too is meaningless, a chasing after the wind.

⁵ Fools fold their hands
and ruin themselves.

⁶ Better one handful with tranquillity
than two handfuls with toil
and chasing after the wind.
⁷ Again I saw something meaningless under the sun:

⁸ There was a man all alone;
he had neither son nor 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!

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

¹⁰ If either of them falls down,
one can help the other up.
But pity anyone who falls
and has no one to help them up.

¹¹ Also, if two lie down together, they will keep warm.
But how can one keep warm alone?

¹² Though one may be overpowered,
two can defend themselves.
A cord of three strands is not quickly broken.
¹³ Better a poor but wise youth than an old but foolish king who no longer knows how to heed a warning.
¹⁴ The youth may have come from prison to the kingship, or he may have been born in poverty within his kingdom.
¹⁵ I saw that all who lived and walked under the sun followed the youth, the king’s successor.
¹⁶ There was no end to all the people who were before them. But those who came later were not pleased with the successor. This too is meaningless, a chasing after the wind.