Ecclesiastes 4:4-6
Christian Standard Bible
The Loneliness of Wealth
4 I saw that all labor and all skillful work is due to one person’s jealousy of another.(A) This too is futile and a pursuit of the wind.[a](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)
Footnotes
- 4:4 Or a feeding on wind, or an affliction of spirit; also in vv. 6,16
Ecclesiastes 4:4-6
New Living Translation
4 Then I observed that most people are motivated to success because they envy their neighbors. But this, too, is meaningless—like chasing the wind.
5 “Fools fold their idle hands,
leading them to ruin.”
6 And yet,
“Better to have one handful with quietness
than two handfuls with hard work
and chasing the wind.”
The Christian Standard Bible. Copyright © 2017 by Holman Bible Publishers. Used by permission. Christian Standard Bible®, and CSB® are federally registered trademarks of Holman Bible Publishers, all rights reserved.
Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
