Ecclesiastes 4:3-5

New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition

³but better than both is the one who has not yet been and has not seen the evil deeds that are done under the sun.^(A)

⁴Then I saw that all toil and all skill in work come from one person’s envy of another. This also is vanity and a chasing after wind.^(B)

⁵Fools fold their hands
and consume their own flesh.^(C)

Ecclesiastes 4:3-5

New International Version

³But better than both
is the one who has never been born,^(A)
who has not seen the evil
that is done under the sun.^(B)

⁴And I saw that all toil and all achievement spring from one person’s envy of another. This too is meaningless, a chasing after the wind.^(C)

⁵Fools fold their hands^(D)
and ruin themselves.

New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition (NRSVUE)

New International Version (NIV)