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Ecclesiastes 4:3

Old Testament Wisdom/Poetry ASV (1901)

What does Ecclesiastes 4:3 say?

The American Standard Version records this verse as: “yea, better than them both [did I esteem] him that hath not yet been, who hath not seen the evil work that is done under the sun.” Read the surrounding verses and the named sources below before drawing broader conclusions.

The verse

yea, better than them both [did I esteem] him that hath not yet been, who hath not seen the evil work that is done under the sun.
Ecclesiastes 4:3 — American Standard Version

Context — Ecclesiastes 4

American Standard Version (1901) — public domain. Click any verse for its study page.
1Then I returned and saw 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.
2Wherefore I praised the dead that have been long dead more than the living that are yet alive;
3yea, better than them both [did I esteem] him that hath not yet been, who hath not seen the evil work that is done under the sun.
4Then I saw all labor and every skilful work, that for this a man is envied of his neighbor. This also is vanity and a striving after wind.
5The fool foldeth his hands together, and eateth his own flesh.
6Better is a handful, with quietness, than two handfuls with labor and striving after wind.
← Ecclesiastes 4:2Ecclesiastes 4:4 →
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What do historical commentaries say?

John Gill's Exposition
John Gill (1697–1771) · Exposition of the Old and New Testament · 18th-century historical commentary
“Yea, better [is he] than both they which hath not yet been, etc.] That is, an unborn person; who is preferred both to the dead that have seen oppression, and to the living that are under it; see (<180310>Job 3:10-16 10:18,19). This supposes a person to be that never was, a mere nonentity; and the judgment made is according to sense, and regards the dead purely as such, and so as free from evils and sorrows, without any respect to their future state and condition; for otherwise an unborn person is not happier than the dead that die in Christ, and live with him: and it can only be true of those that perish, of whom indeed it might be said, that it would have been better for them if they had…”
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Jamieson, Fausset & Brown
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown · Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible · 19th-century historical commentary
“not seen--nor experienced.”
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Wesley's Explanatory Notes
John Wesley (1703–1791) · Explanatory Notes upon the New Testament and Old Testament notes · 18th-century historical commentary
“Better is he - Who was never born. Not seen - Not felt: for as seeing good is put for enjoying it, so seeing evil is put for suffering it. Ecclesiastes 4:4”
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Treasury of Scriptural Knowledge
R. A. Torrey and contributors · The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge · Cross-reference reference work
“better: Ecc 6:3-5; Job 3:10-16, Job 10:18, Job 10:19; Jer 20:17, Jer 20:18; Mat 24:19; Luk 23:29 who: Ecc 1:14, Ecc 2:17; Psa 55:6-11; Jer 9:2, Jer 9:3 Ecclesiastes 4:4”
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Related study paths

Read Ecclesiastes 4 in contextBrowse Hebrew word studiesOpen this verse in the study reader

Sources and verification