3 But better than both is he who has not yet existed, who has not seen the evil that is done under the sun.
Ecclesiastes 4:3
Semantically similar passages
Ecclesiastes 6:4–6
4 For a stillborn child enters in futility and departs in darkness, and his name is shrouded in obscurity. 5 The child, though neither seeing the sun nor knowing anything, has more rest than that man, 6 even if he lives a thousand years twice over but fails to enjoy…
2 Baruch 10:6–7
6 'Blessed is he who was not born, Or he, who having been born, has died. (2BA) 7 But as for us who live, woe unto us, Because we see the afflictions of Zion, And what has befallen Jerusalem. (2BA)
Ecclesiastes 9:4–6
4 There is hope, however, for anyone who is among the living; for even a live dog is better than a dead lion. 5 For the living know that they will die, but the dead know nothing. They have no further reward, because the memory of them is forgotten. 6 Their love, thei…
Sirach 28:20–22
20 For its yoke is a yoke of iron, and its bands are bands of brass. (WEB) 21 Its death is an evil death, and Hades is better than it. (WEB) 22 It will not have rule over godly men. They will not be burned in its flame. (WEB)
2 Esdras 7:65–67
65 Let the race of men lament and the animals of the field be glad. Let all who are born lament, but let the four-footed animals and the livestock rejoice. (WEB) 66 For it is far better with them than with us; for they don’t look forward to judgment, neither do they know… (WEB) 67 … (WEB)
Ecclesiastes 2:13–15
13 And I saw that wisdom exceeds folly, just as light exceeds darkness: 14 The wise man has eyes in his head, but the fool walks in darkness. Yet I also came to realize that one fate overcomes them both. 15 So I said to myself, “The fate of the fool will also befall me.…
Ecclesiastes 6:11–12
11 For the more words, the more futility—and how does that profit anyone? 12 For who knows what is good for a man during the few days in which he passes through his fleeting life like a shadow? Who can tell a man what will come after him under the sun?
Job 20:8–10
8 He will fly away like a dream, never to be found; he will be chased away like a vision in the night. 9 The eye that saw him will see him no more, and his place will no longer behold him. 10 His sons will seek the favor of the poor, for his own hands must return his…
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