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

Please turn, let no injustice happen; indeed, turn, {my righteousness is still intact}.

You will return and see [the difference] between [the] righteous and [the] wicked, between [the one who] serves God and the one who does not serve him.

And considered

I saw something else under the sun: instead of justice [there was] evil; instead of righteousness [there was] wickedness.

Do not be surprised if you see the poor being oppressed with violence or [do not see] justice and righteousness in the province. For one official is watched by a higher official, and [there are] even higher officials over them!

Surely oppression makes a fool of the wise, and a bribe corrupts the heart.

And the Egyptians ruthlessly compelled the {Israelites} to work.

{And then} during those many days, the king of Egypt died, and the {Israelites} groaned because of the work, and they cried out, and their cry for help because of the work went up to God.

Straw [is] not being given to your servants, but [they are] saying to us, 'Make bricks!' and, look, your servants [are] being beaten, but it is the fault of your people."

A people that you do not know shall consume the harvest of your land and all your labor, and you will be only oppressed and crushed {for the rest of your lives}.

And the {Israelites} cried to Yahweh, as he [had] nine hundred iron chariots, and he oppressed the {Israelites} {cruelly} for twenty years.

And {the anger of Yahweh burned} against Israel, and he sold them into the hand of [the] Philistines and the {Ammonites}.

Now there was a great cry of distress of the people and of their wives [against] their Jewish brothers.

They spend the night naked, {without} clothing, and [they] have no garment in the cold.

He lies in ambush {secretly,} like a lion in a thicket. He lies in ambush to seize [the] poor; he seizes [the] poor by catching him in his net.

A man [who is] poor and oppresses the impoverished [is] a beating rain {that leaves} no food.

For the vineyard of Yahweh of hosts [is] the house of Israel, and the man of Judah [is] the plantation of his delight. [And] he waited for justice, but look! Bloodshed! For righteousness, but look! A cry of distress!

And I will put it in the hand of your tormenters, who have said to {you}, 'Bow down that we may {pass} over [you]!' And you have {made} your back like the ground, and like the street for those who {pass} over [you]."

Their feet run to evil, and they hasten to shed innocent blood. Their thoughts [are] thoughts of iniquity; devastation and destruction [are] in their highways.

"Then I will approach you for judgment, and I will be a swift witness against the sorcerers and against the adulterers, and against those who swear {falsely}, and against the oppressors of [the] hired worker [with his] wages, [the] widow and [the] orphan, and {the abusers of} [the] alien, and [yet] do not fear me," says Yahweh of hosts.

The tears

My tears have been my food day and night, while [they] say to me all day [long], "Where [is] your God?"

You have fed them [the] bread of tears; you have given them tears to drink in full measure.

All the day my enemies reproach me; those who mock me swear [oaths] against me.

And this you do {as well}: [you] cover the altar of Yahweh [with] tears, [with] weeping and [with] groaning, because he {no longer regards the offering} or accepts [it] [with] favor from your hand.

Behold, the wages that were held back by you from the workers who reap your fields cry out, and the cries of the reapers have come to the ears of the Lord of hosts.

They had

I myself also could talk as you, if {you were in my place}; I could join against you with words, and I could shake at you with my head.

"Pity me, pity me, you my friends, for God's hand has touched me.

Reproach has broken my heart and I am sick. And I hoped for sympathy, but there was none, and for comforters, but I found none.

look to [my] right and see. There is no one looking out for me; there is no escape for me; no one cares for my soul.

All the brothers of the poor, [if] they hate him, how much more will his friends keep away from him. He pursues [them with] words, [and] they are gone.

She weeps bitterly in the night, her tears [are] on her cheeks; she has no comforter among all her lovers. All her friends have been unfaithful to her; they have become her enemies.

But all this has happened in order that the scriptures of the prophets would be fulfilled." Then the disciples all abandoned him [and] fled.

At my first defense, no one came to my [aid], but [they] all deserted me; may it not be counted against them.

General references

I saw something else under the sun: instead of justice [there was] evil; instead of righteousness [there was] wickedness.

I turned again and saw another vanity under the sun.

{Increasing words only multiplies futility}, how does that profit anyone?

Why do you cause me to see evil [while] you look at trouble? Destruction and violence happen before me; contention and strife arise.