Ecclesiastes 4: Group Study Handout

How to use: read Ecclesiastes 4 aloud together, then take the questions in order. One page is enough for an evening.

Overview

The speaker observes the oppression happening under the sun and sees the tears of those who are oppressed without a comforter (vv. 1-2). The speaker praises the dead who have been long dead more than the living, stating that those who have not yet been born are better (vv.

Key verse

“Then I returned and saw all the oppressions that are done under the sun: and behold, the tears of those who were oppressed, and they had no comforter; and on the side of their oppressors there was power; but they had no comforter.”
Ecclesiastes 4:1 (WEB)

Outline

Ecclesiastes 4:1–3 Observations of Oppression
Ecclesiastes 4:4–6 Vanity of Labor and Envy
Ecclesiastes 4:7–8 Isolation and Labor's Meaninglessness
Ecclesiastes 4:9–12 Value of Companionship
Ecclesiastes 4:13–16 Fleeting Nature of Power

Discussion questions

What do the 'tears of those who were oppressed' in v1 show about their situation?
In v6, why is 'a handful, with quietness' considered better than 'two handfuls'?
In v2, what does praising the dead suggest about the author's view on life?
In v10, what does the word 'woe' indicate about the consequences of being alone?
When have you felt the weight of 'labor' without companionship, as seen in v8?

Go deeper

Passages that echo Ecclesiastes 4: Genesis 2, Proverbs 27, 1 Samuel 23.

Before next time: read Ecclesiastes 5.