Ecclesiastes 4:4-12
New American Standard Bible
4 I have seen that every labor and every (A)skill which is done is the result of rivalry between a person and his neighbor. This too is (B)futility and striving after wind. 5 The fool (C)folds his hands and (D)consumes his own flesh. 6 One hand full of rest is (E)better than two fists full of labor and striving after wind.
7 Then I looked again at futility under the sun. 8 There was a man without a [a]dependent, having neither a son nor a brother, yet there was no end to all his labor. Indeed, (F)his eyes were not satisfied with riches, and he never asked, “And (G)for whom do I labor and deprive myself of pleasure?” This too is futility, and it is an (H)unhappy task.
9 Two are better than one because they have a good return for their labor; 10 for if [b]either of them falls, the one will lift up his companion. But woe to the one who falls when there is not [c]another to lift him up! 11 Furthermore, if two lie down together they [d]keep warm, but (I)how can one be warm alone? 12 And if [e]one can overpower him who is alone, two can resist him. A cord of three strands is not quickly torn apart.
Read full chapterFootnotes
- Ecclesiastes 4:8 Lit second
- Ecclesiastes 4:10 Lit they fall
- Ecclesiastes 4:10 Lit a second
- Ecclesiastes 4:11 Lit have warmth
- Ecclesiastes 4:12 Lit he
New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved.
Bible Gateway Recommends
