Ecclesiastes 4:4-12
Holman Christian Standard Bible
The Loneliness of Wealth
4 I saw that all labor and all skillful work is due to a man’s jealousy of his friend.(A) This too is futile and a pursuit of the wind.(B)
5 The fool folds his arms(C)
and consumes his own flesh.(D)
6 Better one handful with rest
than two handfuls with effort and a pursuit of the wind.(E)
7 Again, I saw futility under the sun: 8 There is a person without a companion,[a] without even a son or brother, and though there is no end to all his struggles, his eyes are still not content with riches.(F) “So who am I struggling for,” he asks, “and depriving myself from good?” This too is futile and a miserable task.
9 Two are better than one because they have a good reward for their efforts. 10 For if either falls, his companion can lift him up; but pity the one who falls without another to lift him up. 11 Also, if two lie down together, they can keep warm; but how can one person alone keep warm?(G) 12 And if someone overpowers one person, two can resist him. A cord of three strands is not easily broken.
Read full chapterFootnotes
- Ecclesiastes 4:8 Lit person, but there is not a second,
Copyright © 1999, 2000, 2002, 2003, 2009 by Holman Bible Publishers, Nashville Tennessee. All rights reserved.
