Ecclesiastes 4:2
in Ecclesiastes 4So I admired the dead, who had already died, above the living, who are still alive.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Wherefore I praised the dead that have been long dead more than the living that are yet alive;
KJV
Wherefore I praised the dead which are already dead more than the living which are yet alive.
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This verse in Ecclesiastes 4
Commentary
8 notes on this verseA commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
21:7), David (Ps 73:3, &c.), Jeremiah (Jer 12:1), Habakkuk (Hab 1:13), all passed through the same perplexity, until they went into the sanctuary, and looked beyond the present to the "judgment" (Ps 73:17;
This site's exposition
So I admired the dead
on Ecclesiastes 4:2-3
The Teacher writes, I admired the dead, who had already died, above the living, who are still alive. Above both he rates the one who has not yet existed, who has not seen the evil that is done under the sun. The verdict comes after the oppression of verse 1.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers1 voice
"So I consider more fortunate the dead, who have already died, than the living, who are still alive. But better than either of them is he who has not yet been, and has never witnessed the evil that is committed under the sun."
The Medieval Church1 voice
A commentator
BonaventureCommentary on Ecclesiastes, Chapter 4 · Written in the 13th century.
proposed
But with regard to the detestation of fault he adds: "And I praised the dead more than the living," namely because they do not see these evils and cruelties, which no good person can see and not grieve: 3 Kings nineteen, Elijah said: "It is …
The Puritans and the Awakening3 voices
I praised - I judged them less miserable. For this is certain, that setting aside the future life, which Solomon doth not meddle with in the present debate; and considering the uncertainty, and vanity, and manifold calamities of the present life, a wise man would not account it worth his while to live.
); and Solomon is ready to agree with them, for it serves to prove that all is vanity and vexation, since life itself is often so; and if we disregard it, in comparison with the favour and fruition of God (as St. Paul, Acts xx.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — leading-punctuation
Wherefore I praised the dead, which are already dead,....
1 more voice on this verse
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
Wherefore I praised the dead - I considered those happy who had escaped from the pilgrimage of life to the place where the wicked cease from troubling, and where the weary are at rest.
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
On the verses either side of this one
And I turned and saw all the oppressions which are done to the righteous in this world under the sun, from the hand of their oppressors; and there is none that should speak consolation to them; and there is none to deliver them from the hand of their oppressors with strong hand and power, and none comforts them.
This section is reception history: how the passage was read and kept in the Jewish tradition. Where a reading parts from an essential of the Christian faith, the section says so at that point.
Texts and citation data: Sefaria; each excerpt follows its version’s licence. 2 further sources are cited on this chapter that carry no English text this site may quote or only restate the verse.
The words behind it
12 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וְשַׁבֵּ֧חַ | veshabeach | and I congratulated | H7623 → | |
| אֲנִ֛י | ʾani | I | H589 → | 874 times |
| אֶת־ | ʾet- | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| הַמֵּתִ֖ים | hametim | the dead | H4191 → | 839 times |
| שֶׁכְּבָ֣ר | shekevar | who already | H3528 → | 9 times |
| מֵ֑תוּ | metu | they had died | H4191 → | 839 times |
| מִן־ | min- | more than | H4480 → | 1188 times |
| הַ֣חַיִּ֔ים | hachaiyim | the living | H2416 → | 498 times |
| אֲשֶׁ֛ר | ʾasher | who | H834 → | 5497 times |
| הֵ֥מָּה | hemah | they | H1992 → | 553 times |
| חַיִּ֖ים | chaiyim | [were] alive | H2416 → | 498 times |
| עֲדֶֽנָה׃ | ʾadenah | still <towards> | H5728 → |
וְשַׁבֵּ֧חַand I congratulated
veshabeachH7623 →
אֲנִ֛יI
ʾaniH589 →874 times
אֶת־<obj.>
ʾet-H853 →10935 times
הַמֵּתִ֖יםthe dead
hametimH4191 →839 times
שֶׁכְּבָ֣רwho already
shekevarH3528 →9 times
מֵ֑תוּthey had died
metuH4191 →839 times
מִן־more than
min-H4480 →1188 times
הַ֣חַיִּ֔יםthe living
hachaiyimH2416 →498 times
אֲשֶׁ֛רwho
ʾasherH834 →5497 times
הֵ֥מָּהthey
hemahH1992 →553 times
חַיִּ֖ים[were] alive
chaiyimH2416 →498 times
עֲדֶֽנָה׃still <towards>
ʾadenahH5728 →
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
5 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Ecclesiastes 2:17So I hated life, because the work that is done under the sun was grievous to me. For everything is futile and a pursuit of the wind.
it leads to
- Ecclesiastes 2:11
Yet when I considered all the works that my hands had accomplished and what I had toiled to achieve, I found everything to be futile, a pursuit of the wind; there was nothing to…
- Jonah 4:8
As the sun was rising, God appointed a scorching east wind, and the sun beat down on Jonah’s head so that he grew faint and wished to die, saying, “It is better for me…
- Ecclesiastes 6:9
Better what the eye can see than the wandering of desire. This too is futile and a pursuit of the wind.
- Psalms 89:47
Remember the briefness of my lifespan! For what futility You have created all men!
- Jeremiah 20:14–18
Cursed be the day I was born! May the day my mother bore me never be blessed.
- Ecclesiastes 2:11
Where this verse is studied
On this page
About Ecclesiastes
This page draws on 9 works. Open the list of works
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Bonaventure, Commentary on Ecclesiastes, Chapter 4; Charles Bridges, An Exposition of the Book of Ecclesiastes; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; Jerome, Commentary on Ecclesiastes; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.