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Ecclesiastes 4:9-12
New American Bible (Revised Edition)
Ecclesiastes 4:9-12
New American Bible (Revised Edition)
9 Two are better than one: They get a good wage for their toil. 10 If the one falls, the other will help the fallen one. But woe to the solitary person! If that one should fall, there is no other to help. 11 So also, if two sleep together, they keep each other warm. How can one alone keep warm? 12 Where one alone may be overcome, two together can resist. A three-ply cord[a] is not easily broken.
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- 4:12 A three-ply cord: an ancient proverb known centuries before biblical times. The progression (“two together…three-ply”) seems to imply, “If two are good, three are even better.”
Ecclesiastes 4:9-12
New International Version
Ecclesiastes 4:9-12
New International Version
9 Two are better than one,
because they have a good return for their labor:
10 If either of them falls down,
one can help the other up.
But pity anyone who falls
and has no one to help them up.
11 Also, if two lie down together, they will keep warm.
But how can one keep warm alone?
12 Though one may be overpowered,
two can defend themselves.
A cord of three strands is not quickly broken.
New American Bible (Revised Edition) (NABRE)
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New International Version (NIV) 
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