To report dead links, typos, or html errors or suggestions about making these resources more useful use our convenient, "For this a man is envied of his neighbor", John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible, Again I considered all travail, and every right work, that for this a man is envied of his neighbour, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible, Keil & Delitzsch Commentary on the Old Testament, I. (translation: French: Louis Segond (1910)) “And I saw all the labour and all the skill of business, that it is an envious surpassing of the one by the other: also this is vain and windy effort.” The היא refers to this exertion of vigorous effort and skill. The word כשרין, which occurs only in Koheleth, is rendered by the LXX. - Secondly, success meets with envy, and produces no lasting good to the worker; yet, however unsatisfactory the result, man must continue to labor, as idleness is ruin. Of his neighbour. BibliographyPoole, Matthew, "Commentary on Ecclesiastes 4:4". 1599-1645. right — rather, “prosperous” (see on Ecclesiastes 2:21). https:https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/acc/ecclesiastes-4.html. Ecclésiaste 5.4. Other people are too lazy. We gravely need to remember that the stream cannot rise above its source, nor the fruit be better than the root from which it grows; that the business ardour which has its origin in a base and selfish motive can only be a base and selfish ardour. "Commentary on Ecclesiastes 4:4". Here again we find thoughts that are identifiable with Solomon, as in Proverbs 15:16-17; 17:1 and in Proverbs 16:8: ANOTHER WORD ON THE WORTHLESSNESS OF LABOR. Ecclesiastes 1:4 (NAS95S) The Hebrew word that is translated as “forever” is HOLAM. It is meant to highlight the futility of human effort apart from God. "Commentary on Ecclesiastes 4:4". Even in friendly rivalry this may play a larger part than we think----for we can bear to be outclassed for some of the time and by some people, but not too regularly or too profoundly", Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible - Unabridged, Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers, Commentary Critical and Explanatory - Unabridged, Kretzmann's Popular Commentary of the Bible, Lange's Commentary on the Holy Scriptures. BibliographyWhedon, Daniel. 2 Therefore I praised the dead who have been long dead more than the living who are yet alive. 4:6 This verse is possibly another proverb (e.g., Prov. "Commentary on Ecclesiastes 4:4". This too is vanity and striving after wind. 4 And I saw that all toil and all achievement spring from one person’s envy of another. כשרון is employed in the sense of "skill, ability," here also.—That this is the envy of a man from his neighbour:—the end of the whole matter is that a man is envied by his neighbour; Vulgate, "eum patere invidae proximi." In order to avoid envy we may not throw ourselves into the arms of inactivity. In addition, how many of us have inherently linked our personal worth with our economic worth? (4) Right work.—Rather, skilful. "And I have seen that every labor and every skill which is done is the result of rivalry between a man and his neighbor. Copyright StatementThese files are public domain. BibliographyBarnes, Albert. This is also vanity and b vexation of spirit. 4:16 The Teacher tells us that people are not fair to each other. But it does not seem to matter who we are. 4. Every right work; all the worthy designs and complete works of wise and virtuous men. The title “Ecclesiastes” comes from a Greek word indicating a person who calls an assembly, so it makes sense that the author identified himself in Ecclesiastes 1:1 by the min in mere'ehu is as in amatz min , Psalms 18:18, and the like - the same as the compar. This also is a vanity and a striving after wind. ; Fausset, A. R.; Brown, David. https:https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/teb/ecclesiastes-4.html. V. The sentence against the vanity of all earthly things necessarily extends even to the greatest and most powerful of earth (13–16). "Commentary on Ecclesiastes 4:4". and to this sense Jarchi; compare with this, Philemon 1:15. This is also vanity and vexation of spirit. Now self is not the only issue. "Coffman Commentaries on the Old and New Testament". The illustration hereby induced of the value of closer social connection of men and harmonious co-operation of their powers to one end (9–12) leads to the closing reflection; this is devoted to the distress and disaster of the highest circles of human society, acknowledging the fate even of the most favoured pets of fortune, such as the occupants of princely or kingly thrones, to be uncertain and liable to a reverse, and thus showing that. 1854-1889. That would be an incorrect thought: whereas it is a demonstrated truth that "men envy the happy." Ecclesiastes 3. This too is meaningless, a chasing after the wind.(A). New International Version Update. 2 Wherefore I praised the dead which are already dead more than the living which are yet alive. I. See note on Ecclesiastes 1:14. This is also vanity, and vexation of spirit; whether it be understood in the one sense or the other; how dissatisfying and vexatious is it, when a man has taken a great deal of pains to do right works for public good, instead of having thanks and praise, is reproached and calumniated for it? Which naturally rob labor and talent of lasting enjoyment. Copyright StatementThese files are public domain.Text Courtesy of BibleSupport.com. Instead, they are cruel. The Ecclesiastes 4: 1 Then I returned and saw all the oppressions that are done under the sun: and, behold, the tears of those who were oppressed, and they had no comforter; and on the side of their oppressors there was power; but they had no comforter. "Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible". https:https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/bcc/ecclesiastes-4.html. Ecclesiaste 4:4 E ho visto che ogni fatica e ogni buona riuscita nel lavoro provocano invidia dell’uno contro l’altro. BibliographyBeza, Theodore. 2 A time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up that which is planted;. It is hard that a man's zeal should be interpreted by his neighbour to be an envious desire to surpass, to outstrip him. - Again, I considered all travail, and every right work. 4. Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. For if a man act uprightly and properly in the world, he soon becomes the object of his neighbor's envy and calumny too. ; Fausset, A. R.; Brown, David. 4 1 “For indeed the day 2 is coming, burning like a furnace, and all the arrogant evildoers will be chaff. "Then I saw all labor, and every skillful work, that for this a man is envied of his neighbor. Denomination: Baptist. "Some understand the meaning of this verse as a description of work which is the effect of rivalry with a neighbor. Read verse in Ostervald (French) The illustration hereby induced of the value of closer social connection of men and harmonious co-operation of their powers to one end, V. The sentence against the vanity of all earthly things necessarily extends even to the greatest and most powerful of earth. The Ecclesiastes 4: 1 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. "Commentary on Ecclesiastes 4:4". Ecclesiastes 4:4 Again, I considered all travail, and every right work, that for this a man is envied of his neighbour. Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible. So shall thy poverty come as one that travelleth, and thy want as an armed man.". It aggravates the baseness of the envy, that it is on the part of one's own neighbour. Again, I considered all travail, and every right work, that for this a man is envied of his neighbour. “It 3 will not leave even a root or branch. The verb also is frequently used to denote envy or jealousy of advantages. The only effect of that would be to ruin ourselves. 4:9-12 This paragraph speaks of the advantage of companionship. 1983-1999. 2:24-26; 3:12,13,22; 5:18; 9:7-9. BibliographyTorrey, R. A. than two handfuls with toil. Parallel with this is the passage (Ecclesiastes 3) where Job, who had no peace nor repose, and who was disturbed ever afresh, wishes for himself the lot of "an hidden untimely birth," and curses the day of his birth, or where in ", "For this a man is envied of his neighbor" (Ecclesiastes 4:4). 5 The fool b folds his hands and c eats his own flesh. "Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible - Unabridged". Sowing Discord Contributed by James Dina on Aug 7, 2020 | 698 views. II. Again I considered all travail — Hebrew כל עמל, all the labour, toil, or trouble, which men undertake or undergo; and every right work — All the worthy designs of virtuous men; that for this a man is envied of his neighbour — Instead of that honour and recompense which he deserves, he meets with nothing but envy, and obloquy, and many evil fruits thereof. https:https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/wen/ecclesiastes-4.html. Solomon is speaking here, as if that life was not breathed into him, and he was a baby who never lived. In the latter signification, namely, "advantage, gain," it occurs in Ecclesiastes 5:10; in the former we find it used in Ecclesiastes 2:21, in conjunction with wisdom and knowledge: "a man whose work is in. Deux valent mieux qu'un ; car ils ont un meilleur salaire de leur travail. To lay or fold the hands together is a gesture of laziness. This is also vanity. Ecclesiastes 4:14 leads us through that poor and wise child coming out of prison to become king after that old and foolish king. Ecclesiastes 4:1 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. This [is] also vanity and vexation of spirit. Copyright StatementThese files are a derivative of an electronic edition prepared from text scanned by Woodside Bible Fellowship.This expanded edition of the Jameison-Faussett-Brown Commentary is in the public domain and may be freely used and distributed. Scripture: Ecclesiastes 4:9-12. If it be, as I think it is, we have grave need to take the Preacher’s warning. But idleness is a sin that is its own punishment. That for this a man is envied of his neighbour.] that for this a man is envied of his neighbour; who will be sure to find fault with what he has done, speak contemptibly of him and his work, and traduce him among men. We would like to show you a description here but the site won’t allow us. BibliographyNicoll, William R. "Commentary on Ecclesiastes 4:4". https:https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/jfu/ecclesiastes-4.html. 4:6 Better is an handful with quietness, than both the hands full with travail and vexation of spirit. Better a poor and wise youth Than an old and foolish king who will be admonished no more. Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible, Devotion to Business springs from Jealous Competition, Joseph Benson's Commentary of the Old and New Testaments, George Haydock's Catholic Bible Commentary, "First, the competitive urge….We may quibble if we will, and remind him (Solomon) of such people as solitary castaways or needy peasants, who toil simply to keep alive, or those artists who really love perfection for its own sake; but the fact remains that all too much of our hard work and high endeavor is mixed with the craving to outshine or not to be outshone. "[7] Also in this second paragraph, a number of illustrations are given to illuminate the real point. Two are always better than one (BDB 25) and three better than two (cf. 3 A time to kill, and a time to heal; a time to break down, and a time to build up;. https:https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/geb/ecclesiastes-4.html. BibliographyDunagan, Mark. III. wisdom and knowledge and Kishron. Hengstenberg translates skill. "Commentary on Ecclesiastes 4:4". I saw the tears of the oppressed, and there was no one to comfort them.+ And their oppressors had the power, and there was no one to comfort them. 1999-2014. travail = toil, as connected with trouble, sorrow. Read verse in Riveduta 1927 (Italian) https:https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/whe/ecclesiastes-4.html. Among the examples in proof of the imperfection and inconstancy of earthly happiness which the Preacher communicates in the above section from the rich treasures of his own experience we find the relation of an ascending grade from lower to higher and more brilliant conditions of happiness. The Graec. It is of course better to be envied than pitied, but still envy with all the hostile and pernicious acts flowing therefrom, and which frequently bring about the ruin of their object, is a great evil, and it is no small consolation for a man who, like Israel at the time, finds himself in an unenviable position, to know that he is not exposed to this torment. 1685. Ecclesiastes 4:4 Again, I considered all travail, and every right work, that for this a man is envied of his neighbour. (See Note on Ecclesiastes 2:21.). Ecclesiastes 4 is the fourth chapter of the Book of Ecclesiastes in the Hebrew Bible or the Old Testament of the Christian Bible. Some people have no friends. Joseph Benson's Commentary. Even success by skill brings no solid satisfaction. BibliographyEllicott, Charles John. That for this a man is envied of his neighbour.] "Vanity and empty effort" are not usually predicated of labours winch are morally worthless, but of such as bring no advantage (compare Ecclesiastes 2:17). All other rights reserved. 1905. Assuming, as Koheleth does in this discussion, from Ecclesiastes 3:22, that there is no future life, he is prepared to suggest that jealousy of one another is the main cause of men’s efforts in life. Ecclesiastes 4:3. I have seen that every labor and every skill which is done is the result of rivalry between a man and his neighbor. "Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers". : aemulatio qua unus prae altero eminere studet . Ecclesiastes 4:5. A little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to sleep. "The envious man is here exhibited in the attitude of the sluggard (Proverbs 6:10). BibliographyTrapp, John. Looking with jealous envy on the successful rivals of their struggles, and with scorn on those less fortunate, who are contented with a more modest lot (4–6).—Then follow reflections regarding the happiness of such persons as have risen through the abundance of their goods to a distinguished and influential position in human society, but. Abilene Christian University Press, Abilene, Texas, USA. It is possible that "rest" here represents Eccl. The pains that men take to do right works. If, some two or three and twenty centuries ago, the Jews were bent every man on outdoing and outselling his neighbour; if his main ambition was to amass greater wealth or to secure a larger business than his competitors, or to make a handsomer show before the world; if in the urgent pursuit of this ambition he held his neighbours not as neighbours, but as unscrupulous rivals, keen for gain at his expense and to rise by his fall; if, to reach his end, he was willing to get up early and go late to rest, to force all his energies into an injurious activity and strain them close to the snapping point: if this were what a Jew of that time was like, might you not easily take it for a portrait of many an English merchant, manufacturer, lawyer, or politician? (Calmet). "Commentary on Ecclesiastes 4:4". Even in friendly rivalry this may play a larger part than we think----for we can bear to be outclassed for some of the time and by some people, but not too regularly or too profoundly" (Kidner p. 45). In Isaiah 11:13, קנאת אפרים is the jealousy felt by Ephraim of Judah, who was preferred: in Ecclesiastes 9:6, of this book, envy is conjoined with hatred. Therefore the encouragement to do good, to act an upright part, is very little. The margin gives here the true sense, or at least the better, This springs from a man’s jealousy towards his neighbour. Envied — Instead of honour, he meets with envy and obloquy. 4 Again I turned my attention to all the acts of oppression that go on under the sun. ECCLES 4:5 The fool foldeth his hands together, and eateth his own flesh. From the sad lot of victims innocently suffering from tyrannical persecution and oppression, II. and if he does a right thing, and yet has not right ends and views in it, it stands for nothing; it has only the appearance of good, but is not truly so, and yields no solid peace and comfort.