ecclesiastes 4 through 6

Read Ecclesiastes 4 through 6 at Bible Gateway.

The Hebrew paragraph division we are currently in is Ecc 3:9-12:14 {p} and we will not have a topic sentence for it until we have come to its end (if we are wise enough to understand it, we will see …)

There is a chiastic structure, however, encompassing these chapters:

Ecc 3:22-6:12

1a) Ecc 3:22, It is best for a man to rejoice in his works, for he cannot see what will happen after him;

1) Ecc 3:22a, Nothing is better than that a man should rejoice in his own works, for that is his heritage;
2) Ecc 3:22b, For who can bring him to see what will happen after him?

1b) Ecc 4:1-12, Oppression + the fool consumes himself + vain labor, love of riches;

1) Ecc 4:1-3, I considered the oppression that is done under the sun, blessed are they who have not seen it;

2) Ecc 4:5, The fool folds his hands and consumes his own flesh;

3) Ecc 4:6-12, Better a little with peace than much with toil + vanity/ the love of riches;

1) Ecc 4:6, Better a handful with quietness than both hands full with toil + grasping for the wind;
2) Ecc 4:7-12, The vanity of remaining alone through love of riches/ the excellence of a good companion;

1a) Ecc 4:7-8a, This is vanity: I saw one alone, without companion, son, or brother;
1b) Ecc 4:8b, Yet there is no end to all his labors;
central axis) Ecc 4:8c, Nor is his eye satisfied with riches;
2b) Ecc 4:8d, But he never asks, “For whom do I toil and deprive myself of good?”
2a) Ecc 4:9e-12, It is vanity, for two are better than one/ threefold cord is not quickly broken.

central axis) Ecc 4:13-16, Solomon’s reflection on the life of Joseph: wisdom + honor + popularity do not last;

2b) Ecc 5:1-17, The fool destroys himself + oppression + vain love of riches, labor;

2) Ecc 5:1-7, A fool vows rashly and suffers destruction/ walk prudently + fear God;

1a) Ecc 5:1-2, Walk prudently when you go to the house of God/ listen rather than speak;
1b) Ecc 5:3, For a dream comes through much activity, and a fool’s voice is known by his many words;
1c) Ecc 5:4-6, If you vow to God, pay it, for fools do not pay their vows and suffer destruction;

1a) Ecc 5:4a, When you make a vow to God;
1b) Ecc 5:4b, Do not delay to pay it;
central axis) Ecc 5:4c, For He has no pleasure in fools;
2b) Ecc 5:4d, Pay what you have vowed;
2a) Ecc 5:5a, Better not to vow than to vow and not pay;

central axis) Ecc 5:6a, Do not let your mouth cause you to sin, nor say that your words were an error;
2c) Ecc 5:6b, Why should God be angry at your excuse + destroy the work of your hands?
2b) Ecc 5:7a, For in the multitude of dreams and many words there is also vanity;
2a) Ecc 5:7b, But fear God.

1) Ecc 5:8-9, If you see the poor oppressed + perversion of justice, do not marvel;

3) Ecc 5:10-17, The vanity of love of riches/ what profit in labor if it is with darkness + sorrow;

2) Ecc 5:10-16a, He who loves riches will not be satisfied with them;
1) Ecc 5:16b-17, What profit has he who has labored for the wind/ he eats in darkness + sorrow + sickness + anger.

2a) Ecc 5:18-6:12, It is good for a man to enjoy the fruit of his labor/ he cannot tell what will happen after him;

1) Ecc 5:18-20, It is good to eat + drink + enjoy the fruit of his labor for it is his heritage;

1a) Ecc 5:18a, It is good for a man to eat + drink + enjoy the fruit of his labor;
1b) Ecc 5:18b, Which God gives him;
1c) Ecc 5:18v, For it is his heritage;
central axis) Ecc 5:19a, Every man to whom God has given riches + wealth + ability to eat of it;
2c) Ecc 5:19b, To receive his heritage and rejoice in his labor;
2b) Ecc 5:19c, This is the gift of God;
2a) Ecc 5:20, He will not fret on the days of his life, because God keeps him busy with the joy of his heart.

2) Ecc 6:1-12, Who can tell a man what will happen after him under the sun?

Because Solomon was wise, he struggled with despair, because he saw foolishness and evil in the world. For a man to dwell overmuch on what will happen after him can lead to fretfulness and despair, because really, can a man know it? (We can know what we have been told by God. And His word to us is, Fear not, and fret not). But he realized that joy in the present was a gift of God. Joy does not come by wisdom, but by trust and rest in God who is good, who will not suffer neither folly nor evil forever. ♥