Ecclesiastes 4:2

In 11 translations

BSB

So I admired the dead, who had already died, above the living, who are still alive.

KJV

Wherefore I praised the dead which are already dead more than the living which are yet alive.

WEB

Therefore I praised the dead who have been long dead more than the living who are yet alive.

ASV

Wherefore I praised the dead that have been long dead more than the living that are yet alive;

LSV

And I am praising the dead who have already died above the living who are yet alive.

YLT

And I am praising the dead who have already died above the living who are yet alive.

DBY

Then I praised the dead who are already dead more than the living who are yet alive;

DRC

And I praised the dead rather than the living:

GNV

Wherefore I praysed the dead which now are dead, aboue the liuing, which are yet aliue.

JPS

Wherefore I praised the dead that are already dead more than the living that are yet alive;

LXXE

and I praised all the dead that had already died more than the living, as many as are alive until now.

Word by word Hebrew · tap a word

Words in brackets are English the glossers added; the Hebrew has no word for them, and they can carry a choice of tense or meaning.

Original-language editions

WLC

וְשַׁבֵּ֧חַ אֲנִ֛י אֶת־הַמֵּתִ֖ים שֶׁכְּבָ֣ר מֵ֑תוּ מִן־הַ֣חַיִּ֔ים אֲשֶׁ֛ר הֵ֥מָּה חַיִּ֖ים עֲדֶֽנָה׃

LXX-Br

Καὶ ἐπῄνεσα ἐγὼ σύμπαντας τοὺς τεθνηκότας τοὺς ἤδη ἀποθανόντας ὑπὲρ τοὺς ζῶντας, ὅσοι αὐτοὶ ζῶσιν ἕως τοῦ νῦν.

In the reference works topics that cite this verse

From public-domain Bible dictionaries and topical indexes (1884–1915).

Cross-references most cited first

• Job 3:11–26Why did I not perish at birth; why did I not die as I came from the womb? Why were there knees to receive me, and breasts that I should be nursed? For now I would be lying down in peace; I would be asleep and at rest…
• 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.
• Ecclesiastes 9:4–6There is hope, however, for anyone who is among the living; for even a live dog is better than a dead lion. For the living know that they will die, but the dead know nothing. They have no further reward, because the…

From the OpenBible.info cross-reference set (votes from readers; not every link is a quotation or allusion).