---
title: Ecclesiastes 4:1 (JPS 1917) — But I returned and considered all the oppressions that are done unde… · tree and pragmatics
description: But 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. Who acts: I, tears, power. Ecclesiastes 4:1 in JPS 1917 with its d
---

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# Ecclesiastes 4:1 · JPS 1917

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
But 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.

<!-- .vintro -->
**Who acts:** I, tears, power · **What happens:** return, consider, do, behold, oppress, have · **To what, where:** oppressions, sun, tears, comforter, side

<!-- .vabout -->
This is Ecclesiastes 4:1 · JPS 1917 in the English of the Jewish Publication Society's 1917 translation, from Mova's open Bible corpus. The page gives the sentence's syntax tree — a dependency tree in the style of Universal Dependencies, parsed by Mova and checked by a teacher model — and its pragmatics clause by clause: who acts (I, tears, power), what happens, when and where, as Mova's frames read it. The original of the verse links back to its own tree and to the Targum.

## The tree {#tree}

```conllu
# sent_id = jps:ECC:73
# text = But 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.
1	But	but	CCONJ	CC	_	3	cc	_	_
2	I	I	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Number=Sing|Person=1|PronType=Prs	3	nsubj	_	_
3	returned	return	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=1|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
4	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	5	cc	_	_
5	considered	consider	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=1|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	3	conj	_	_
6	all	all	DET	PDT	PronType=Tot	8	det:predet	_	_
7	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	8	det	_	_
8	oppressions	oppression	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	5	obj	_	_
9	that	that	PRON	WDT	PronType=Rel	11	nsubj:pass	_	_
10	are	be	AUX	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	11	aux:pass	_	_
11	done	do	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	8	acl:relcl	_	_
12	under	under	ADP	IN	_	14	case	_	_
13	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	14	det	_	_
14	sun	sun	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	11	obl	_	_
15	;	;	PUNCT	:	_	17	punct	_	_
16	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	17	cc	_	_
17	behold	behold	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	3	conj	_	_
18	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	19	det	_	_
19	tears	tear	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	17	obj	_	_
20	of	of	ADP	IN	_	21	case	_	_
21	such	such	PRON	NN	PronType=Dem	19	nmod	_	_
22	as	as	SCONJ	IN	_	21	fixed	_	_
23	were	be	AUX	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	24	aux:pass	_	_
24	oppressed	oppress	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	21	acl:relcl	_	_
25	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	24	punct	_	_
26	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	28	cc	_	_
27	they	they	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Number=Plur|Person=3|PronType=Prs	28	nsubj	_	_
28	had	have	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	17	conj	_	_
29	no	no	DET	DT	PronType=Neg	30	det	_	_
30	comforter	comforter	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	28	obj	_	_
31	;	;	PUNCT	:	_	40	punct	_	_
32	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	40	cc	_	_
33	on	on	ADP	IN	_	35	case	_	_
34	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	35	det	_	_
35	side	side	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	40	obl	_	_
36	of	of	ADP	IN	_	38	case	_	_
37	their	their	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Number=Plur|Person=3|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	38	nmod:poss	_	_
38	oppressors	oppressor	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	35	nmod	_	_
39	there	there	PRON	EX	PronType=Dem	40	expl	_	_
40	was	be	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	3	conj	_	_
41	power	power	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	40	nsubj	_	_
42	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	45	punct	_	_
43	but	but	CCONJ	CC	_	45	cc	_	_
44	they	they	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Number=Plur|Person=3|PronType=Prs	45	nsubj	_	_
45	had	have	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	3	conj	_	_
46	no	no	DET	DT	PronType=Neg	47	det	_	_
47	comforter	comforter	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	45	obj	_	_
48	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	3	punct	_	_
```

## Pragmatics {#pragmatics}

<!-- sa -->
- form: statement
- act: assert
- voice: narrator
- polarity: none
- teacher: kept the draft

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **return** | past | I |  |  |  |  |  | vn escape-51.1-1 «NP V»: agent=Theme |
| 2 | **consider** | past | I *not said here* | all oppressions |  |  |  |  | vn consider-29.9-1-1 «NP V NP ADJ»: agent=Agent oppression=Attribute |
| 3 | **do** | present · passive |  | all oppressions |  | the sun |  |  | vn act-114-1 «NP V NP»: subject=Eventuality |
| 4 | **behold** | infinitive | I *not said here* | the tears of such |  |  |  |  | vn sight-30.2 «NP V NP»: agent=Experiencer tear=Stimulus |
| 5 | **oppress** | past · passive |  |  |  |  |  |  | tree rules |
| 6 | **have** | past | tears *= tear* | no comforter |  |  |  |  | vn birth-28.2-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent comforter=Patient |
| 7 | **be** | past | power |  |  | the side of tears's oppressors; there |  |  | vn exist-47.1 «NP V PP.location»: agent=Theme on side=Location |
| 8 | **have** | past | tears *= tear* | no comforter |  |  |  |  | vn birth-28.2-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent comforter=Patient |

<!-- .note -->
One row per clause the reader finds. «not said here»: a role filled from the clause above. «roles by»: a VerbNet class and frame when one fits the verb, else the reader's rules on the tree.

## The Hebrew of this verse {#hebrew}

<!-- .vhe dir=rtl lang=hbo -->
וְשַׁ֣בְתִּֽי אֲנִ֗י וָאֶרְאֶה֙ אֶת־כָּל־הָ֣עֲשֻׁקִ֔ים אֲשֶׁ֥ר נַעֲשִׂ֖ים תַּ֣חַת הַשָּׁ֑מֶשׁ וְהִנֵּ֣ה ׀ דִּמְעַ֣ת הָעֲשֻׁקִ֗ים וְאֵ֤ין לָהֶם֙ מְנַחֵ֔ם וּמִיַּ֤ד עֹֽשְׁקֵיהֶם֙ כֹּ֔חַ וְאֵ֥ין לָהֶ֖ם מְנַחֵֽם׃

[Ecclesiastes 4:1: the Hebrew tree, its pragmatics and the Targum →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/ketuvim/ECC.4.1/)

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**Source.** The Holy Scriptures according to the Masoretic Text, Jewish Publication Society, 1917, from eBible.org: public domain. Sentence `jps:ECC:73` of Mova's parse database.

**The tree and the speech act** come from Mova's cycle: the small model's draft, read by a large model as teacher, passed by Mova's gates (Elamur Cosmic License). **The frames** are read from the tree by Mova's frames reader (`prag`) when this page is built, the chapter read in order, so a pronoun may be resolved from an earlier sentence of the chapter.

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