Ecclesiastes 4:1

HCSB

Ecclesiastes 4:1

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge

Summary

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.

I returned

Job 6:29

Malachi 3:18

And considered

The tears

James 5:4

They had

General references

Bible References

I returned

Reconsider; don’t be unjust.
Reconsider; my righteousness is still the issue.

So you will again see the difference between the righteous and the wicked, between one who serves God and one who does not serve Him.

And considered

I also observed under the sun: there is wickedness at the place of judgment and there is wickedness at the place of righteousness.

If you see oppression of the poor and perversion of justice and righteousness in the province, don’t be astonished at the situation, because one official protects another official, and higher officials protect them.

Surely, the practice of extortion turns a wise person into a fool,
and a bribe destroys the mind.

They worked the Israelites ruthlessly

After a long time, the king of Egypt died. The Israelites groaned because of their difficult labor, and they cried out; and their cry for help ascended to God because of the difficult labor.

No straw has been given to your servants, yet they say to us, ‘Make bricks!’ Look, your servants are being beaten, but it is your own people who are at fault.”

A people you don’t know will eat your land’s produce and everything you have labored for. You will only be oppressed and crushed continually.

Then the Israelites cried out to the Lord, because Jabin had 900 iron chariots, and he harshly oppressed them 20 years.

So the Lord’s anger burned against Israel, and He sold them to the Philistines and the Ammonites.

There was a widespread outcry from the people and their wives against their Jewish countrymen.

Without clothing, they spend the night naked,
having no covering against the cold.

he lurks in secret like a lion in a thicket.
He lurks in order to seize the afflicted;
he seizes the afflicted and drags him in his net.

A destitute leader who oppresses the poor
is like a driving rain that leaves no food.

For the vineyard of the Lord of Hosts
is the house of Israel,
and the men of Judah,
the plant He delighted in.
He looked for justice
but saw injustice,
for righteousness,
but heard cries of wretchedness.

I will put it into the hands of your tormentors,
who said to you:
Lie down, so we can walk over you.
You made your back like the ground,
and like a street for those who walk on it.

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Their feet run after evil,
and they rush to shed innocent blood.
Their thoughts are sinful thoughts;
ruin and wretchedness are in their paths.

“I will come to you in judgment, and I will be ready to witness against sorcerers and adulterers; against those who swear falsely; against those who oppress the widow and the fatherless, and cheat the wage earner; and against those who deny justice to the foreigner. They do not fear Me,” says the Lord of Hosts.

The tears

My tears have been my food day and night,
while all day long people say to me,
“Where is your God?”

You fed them the bread of tears
and gave them a full measure
of tears to drink.

My enemies taunt me all day long;
they ridicule and curse me.

And this is another thing you do: you cover the Lord’s altar with tears, with weeping and groaning, because He no longer respects your offerings or receives them gladly from your hands.

Look! The pay that you withheld from the workers who reaped your fields cries out, and the outcry of the harvesters has reached the ears of the Lord of Hosts.

They had

If you were in my place I could also talk like you.
I could string words together against you
and shake my head at you.

Have mercy on me, my friends, have mercy,
for God’s hand has struck me.

Insults have broken my heart,
and I am in despair.
I waited for sympathy,
but there was none;
for comforters, but found no one.

Look to the right and see:
no one stands up for me;
there is no refuge for me;
no one cares about me.

All the brothers of a poor man hate him;
how much more do his friends
keep their distance from him!
He may pursue them with words,
but they are not there.

ב BetShe weeps aloud during the night,
with tears on her cheeks.
There is no one to offer her comfort,
not one from all her lovers.

All her friends have betrayed her;
they have become her enemies.

But all this has happened so that the prophetic Scriptures

would be fulfilled.” Then all the disciples deserted Him and ran away.

At my first defense, no one stood by me, but everyone deserted me. May it not be counted against them.

General references

I also observed under the sun: there is wickedness at the place of judgment and there is wickedness at the place of righteousness.

Again, I saw futility under the sun:

For when there are many words, they increase futility. What is the advantage for man?

Why do You force me to look at injustice?
Why do You tolerate wrongdoing?
Oppression and violence are right in front of me.
Strife is ongoing, and conflict escalates.