Ecclesiastes 4:2
“Wherefore I praised the dead which are already dead more than the living which are yet alive.”
So I returned, and considered 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.
Wherefore I praised the dead which are already dead more than the living which are yet alive.
Yea, better is he than both they, which hath not yet been, who hath not seen the evil work that is done under the sun.
Again, I considered all travail, and every right work, that for this a man is envied of his neighbour. This is also vanity and vexation of spirit.
Why This Verse Was Tagged
This verse was identified through meaning similarity — its content is mathematically close to known verses in this theme, even without sharing the same vocabulary.
Counter-Arguments
The strongest case that this verse does not belong in this theme.
Related Verses
“For the living know that they shall die: but the dead know not any thing, neither have they any more a reward; for the memory of them is forgotten.”
“For to him that is joined to all the living there is hope: for a living dog is better than a dead lion.”
“For there is no remembrance of the wise more than of the fool for ever; seeing that which now is in the days to come shall all be forgotten. And how dieth the wise man? as the fool.”
“For the grave cannot praise thee, death can not celebrate thee: they that go down into the pit cannot hope for thy truth.”
“It is better to go to the house of mourning, than to go to the house of feasting: for that is the end of all men; and the living will lay it to his heart.”