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Scripture: Ecclesiastes 4:1-12
4 Again, I observed all the acts of oppression being done under the sun. Look at the tears of those who are oppressed; they have no one to comfort them. Power is with those who oppress them; they have no one to comfort them. 2 So I commended the dead, who have already died, more than the living, who are still alive. 3 But better than either of them is the one who has not yet existed, who has not seen the evil activity that is done under the sun.
4 I saw that all labor and all skillful work is due to one person’s jealousy of another. This too is futile and a pursuit of the wind.[a]
5 The fool folds his arms
and consumes his own flesh.
6 Better one handful with rest
than two handfuls with effort and a pursuit of the wind.
7 Again, I saw futility under the sun: 8 There is a person without a companion,[b] without even a son or brother, and though there is no end to all his struggles, his eyes are still not content with riches. “Who am I struggling for,” he asks, “and depriving myself of good things?” This too is futile and a miserable task.
9 Two are better than one because they have a good reward for their efforts. 10 For if either falls, his companion can lift him up; but pity the one who falls without another to lift him up. 11 Also, if two lie down together, they can keep warm; but how can one person alone keep warm? 12 And if someone overpowers one person, two can resist him. A cord of three strands is not easily broken.
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