Ecclesiastes 4:5-11 in English

⁵ The fool foldeth his hands together, and eateth his own flesh.

⁶ Better is a handful, with quietness, than two handfuls with labor and striving after wind.

⁷ Then I returned and saw vanity under the sun.

⁸ There is one that is alone, and he hath not a second; yea, he hath neither son nor brother; yet is there no end of all his labor, neither are his eyes satisfied with riches. For whom then, saith he, do I labor, and deprive my soul of good? This also is vanity, yea, it is a sore travail.

⁹ Two are better than one, because they have a good reward for their labor.

¹⁰ For if they fall, the one will lift up his fellow; but woe to him that is alone when he falleth, and hath not another to lift him up.

¹¹ Again, if two lie together, then they have warmth; but how can one be warm alone?

⁵ The fool folds his hands together, and eats his own flesh.

⁶ Better is a handful of rest than two handfuls of trouble and waywardness of spirit.

⁷ So I returned, and saw vanity under the sun.

⁸ There is one alone, and there is not a second; yea, he has neither son nor brother: yet there is no end to all his labour; neither is his eye satisfied with wealth; and for whom do I labour, and deprive my soul of good? this is also vanity, and an evil trouble.

⁹ Two are better than one, seeing they have a good reward for their labour.

¹⁰ For if they fall, the one will lift up his fellow: but woe to him that is alone when he falls, and there is not a second to lift him up.

¹¹ Also if two should lie together, they also get heat: but how shall one be warmed alone?

⁵ The fool foldeth his hands together, and eateth his own flesh.

⁶ Better is an handful with quietness, than both the hands full with travail and vexation of spirit.

⁷ Then I returned, and I saw vanity under the sun.

⁸ There is one alone, and there is not a second; yea, he hath neither child nor brother: yet is there no end of all his labour; neither is his eye satisfied with riches; neither saith he, For whom do I labour, and bereave my soul of good? This is also vanity, yea, it is a sore travail.

⁹ Two are better than one; because they have a good reward for their labour.

¹⁰ For if they fall, the one will lift up his fellow: but woe to him that is alone when he falleth; for he hath not another to help him up.

¹¹ Again, if two lie together, then they have heat: but how can one be warm alone?

⁵ The fool foldeth his hands together, and eateth his own flesh.

⁶ Better is an handful with quietness, than both the hands full with travail and vexation of spirit.

⁷ Then I returned, and I saw vanity under the sun.

⁸ There is one alone, and there is not a second; yea, he hath neither child nor brother: yet is there no end of all his labour; neither is his eye satisfied with riches; neither saith he, For whom do I labour, and bereave my soul of good? This is also vanity, yea, it is a sore travail.

⁹ Two are better than one; because they have a good reward for their labour.

¹⁰ For if they fall, the one will lift up his fellow: but woe to him that is alone when he falleth; for he hath not another to help him up.

¹¹ Again, if two lie together, then they have heat: but how can one be warm alone?

⁵ The fool folds his hands together, and eats his own flesh.

⁶ Better is a handful of rest than two handfuls of trouble and waywardness of spirit.

⁷ So I returned, and saw vanity under the sun.

⁸ There is one alone, and there is not a second; yes, he has neither son nor brother: yet there is no end to all his labor; neither is his eye satisfied with wealth; and for whom do I labor, and deprive my soul of good? this is also vanity, and an evil trouble.

⁹ Two are better than one, seeing they have a good reward for their labor.

¹⁰ For if they fall, the one will lift up his fellow: but woe to him that is alone when he falls, and there is not a second to lift him up.

¹¹ Also if two should lie together, they also get heat: but how shall one be warmed alone?

⁵ The fool foldeth his hands together, and eateth his own flesh.

⁶ Better is an handful with quietness, than two handfuls with labour and striving after wind.

⁷ Then I returned and saw vanity under the sun.

⁸ There is one that is alone, and he hath not a second; yea, he hath neither son nor brother; yet is there no end of all his labour, neither are his eyes satisfied with riches. For whom then, saith he, do I labour, and deprive my soul of good? This also is vanity, yea, it is a sore travail.

⁹ Two are better than one; because they have a good reward for their labour.

¹⁰ For if they fall, the one will lift up his fellow: but woe to him that is alone when he falleth, and hath not another to lift him up.

¹¹ Again, if two lie together, then they have warmth: but how can one be warm alone?

⁵ Foolish people refuse to work; they sit idly, with their hands folded, and do not work. So they ruin themselves.

⁶ So I say, “It is better to be content with not having much money, than to work very hard and try to get a lot of money, which is as useless as chasing the wind.”

⁷ I thought about something else that happens on the earth MTY that seems senseless.

⁸ There are men who live alone; they do not have a wife or children or any brothers living with them; every day they work very hard, without stopping, to get a lot of money, but they are never satisfied with the things that they have. They never ask themselves, “Why am I working very hard to earn more money? Why am I not doing things that would cause me to be happy?” What they do also seems senseless.

⁹ Having someone work with you is better than being by yourself all the time. If you have a friend, he can help you to do your work.

¹⁰ If you fall down, he can help you get up again. But if you fall down when you are alone, it will be difficult for you, because there will,be no one to help you stand up.

¹¹ Similarly, if two people sleep together, they can keep each other warm. But someone who sleeps alone will certainly not RHQ be warm.

⁵ The fool folds his hands together, and eats his own flesh.

⁶ Better is a handful of rest than two handfuls of trouble and waywardness of spirit.

⁷ So I returned, and saw vanity under the sun.

⁸ There is one alone, and there is not a second; yes, he has neither son nor brother: yet there is no end to all his labour; neither is his eye satisfied with wealth; and for whom do I labour, and deprive my soul of good? this is also vanity, and an evil trouble.

⁹ Two are better than one, seeing they have a good reward for their labour.

¹⁰ For if they fall, the one will lift up his fellow: but woe to him that is alone when he falls, and there is not a second to lift him up.

¹¹ Also if two should lie together, they also get heat: but how shall one be warmed alone?

⁵ The fool folds his hands together and ruins himself.

⁶ Better is a handful, with quietness, than two handfuls with labor and chasing after wind.

⁷ Then I returned and saw vanity under the sun.

⁸ There is one who is alone, and he has neither son nor brother. There is no end to all of his labor, neither are his eyes satisfied with wealth. “For whom then do I labor and deprive my soul of enjoyment?” This also is vanity. Yes, it is a miserable business.

⁹ Two are better than one, because they have a good reward for their labor.

¹⁰ For if they fall, the one will lift up his fellow; but woe to him who is alone when he falls, and doesn’t have another to lift him up.

¹¹ Again, if two lie together, then they have warmth; but how can one keep warm alone?

⁵ The fool folds his hands together and ruins himself.

⁶ Better is a handful, with quietness, than two handfuls with labor and chasing after wind.

⁷ Then I returned and saw vanity under the sun.

⁸ There is one who is alone, and he has neither son nor brother. There is no end to all of his labor, neither are his eyes satisfied with wealth. “For whom then do I labor and deprive my soul of enjoyment?” This also is vanity. Yes, it is a miserable business.

⁹ Two are better than one, because they have a good reward for their labor.

¹⁰ For if they fall, the one will lift up his fellow; but woe to him who is alone when he falls, and doesn’t have another to lift him up.

¹¹ Again, if two lie together, then they have warmth; but how can one keep warm alone?

⁵ The fool folds his hands together and ruins himself.

⁶ Better is a handful, with quietness, than two handfuls with labour and chasing after wind.

⁷ Then I returned and saw vanity under the sun.

⁸ There is one who is alone, and he has neither son nor brother. There is no end to all of his labour, neither are his eyes satisfied with wealth. “For whom then do I labour and deprive my soul of enjoyment?” This also is vanity. Yes, it is a miserable business.

⁹ Two are better than one, because they have a good reward for their labour.

¹⁰ For if they fall, the one will lift up his fellow; but woe to him who is alone when he falls, and doesn’t have another to lift him up.

¹¹ Again, if two lie together, then they have warmth; but how can one keep warm alone?

⁵ The foolish man, folding his hands, takes the flesh of his body for food.

⁶ One hand full of rest is better than two hands full of trouble and desire for wind.

⁷ Then I came back, and I saw an example of what is to no purpose under the sun.

⁸ It is one who is by himself, without a second, and without son or brother; but there is no end to all his work, and he has never enough of wealth. For whom, then, am I working and keeping myself from pleasure? This again is to no purpose, and a bitter work.

⁹ Two are better than one, because they have a good reward for their work.

¹⁰ And if one has a fall, the other will give him a hand; but unhappy is the man who is by himself, because he has no helper.

¹¹ So again, if two are sleeping together they are warm, but how may one be warm by himself?

⁵ The fool foldeth his hands together, and eateth his own flesh.

⁶ Better is a handful with quietness, than both hands full with labour and pursuit of the wind.

⁷ And I returned and saw vanity under the sun.

⁸ There is one alone and without a second; also he hath neither son nor brother: yet is there no end of all his labour, neither is his eye satisfied with riches, and he saith not, For whom then am I labouring, and depriving my soul of good? This also is vanity and a grievous occupation.

⁹ Two are better than one; because they have a good reward for their labour.

¹⁰ For if they fall, the one will lift up his fellow; but woe to him that is alone when he falleth, and who hath not another to lift him up!

¹¹ Again, if two lie together, then they have warmth; but how can one alone be warm?

⁵ The fool foldeth his hands together, and eateth his own flesh, saying:

⁶ Better is a handful with rest, than both hands full with labour, and vexation of mind.

⁷ Considering I found also another vanity under the sun:

⁸ There is but one, and he hath not a second, no child, no brother, and yet he ceaseth not to labour, neither are his eyes satisfied with riches, neither doth he reflect, saying: For whom do I labour, and defraud my soul of good things? in this also is vanity, and a grievous vexation.

⁹ It is better therefore that two should be together, than one: for they have the advantage of their society:

¹⁰ If one fall he shall be supported by the other: woe to him that is alone, for when he falleth, he hath none to lift him up.

¹¹ And if two lie together, they shall warm one another: how shall one alone be warmed?

⁵ Fools fold their arms and do nothing—so in the end they're all used up.

⁶ It's better to earn a little without stress than a lot with too much stress and chasing after the wind.

⁷ Then I turned to consider something else here on earth that is also frustratingly hard to understand.

⁸ What about someone who has no family to help him, no brother or son, who works all the time, but isn't satisfied with the money he makes. “Who am I working for?” he asks himself. “Why am I preventing myself from enjoying life?” Such a situation is hard to explain—it's an evil business!

⁹ Two are better than one, for they can help each other in their work.

¹⁰ If one of them falls down, the other can help them up, but how sad it is for someone who falls down and doesn't have anyone to help them up.

¹¹ In the same way, if two people lie down together, they keep each other warm, but you can't keep yourself warm if you're alone.

⁵ The foole foldeth his hands, and eateth vp his owne flesh.

⁶ Better is an handfull with quietnesse, then two handfuls with labour and vexation of spirit.

⁷ Againe I returned, and sawe vanitie vnder the sunne.

⁸ There is one alone, and there is not a second, which hath neither sonne nor brother, yet is there none end of all his trauaile, neither can his eye be satisfied with riches: neither doeth he thinke, For whome doe I trauaile and defraude my soule of pleasure? this also is vanitie, and this is an euill trauaile.

⁹ Two are better then one: for they haue better wages for their labour.

¹⁰ For if they fal, the one wil lift vp his felow: but wo vnto him that is alone: for he falleth, and there is not a second to lift him vp.

¹¹ Also if two sleepe together, then shall they haue heate: but to one how should there be heate?

⁵ The fool foldeth his hands together, and eateth his own flesh.

⁶ Better is a handful of quietness, than both the hands full of labour and striving after wind.

⁷ Then I returned and saw vanity under the sun.

⁸ There is one that is alone, and he hath not a second; yea, he hath neither son nor brother; yet is there no end of all his labour, neither is his eye satisfied with riches: 'for whom then do I labour, and bereave my soul of pleasure?' This also is vanity, yea, it is a grievous business.

⁹ Two are better than one; because they have a good reward for their labour.

¹⁰ For if they fall, the one will lift up his fellow; but woe to him that is alone when he falleth, and hath not another to lift him up.

¹¹ Again, if two lie together, then they have warmth; but how can one be warm alone?

⁵ The fool foldeth his hands together, and eateth his own flesh.

⁶ Better is a handful with quietness, than both the hands full with travail and vexation of spirit.

⁷ Then I returned, and I saw vanity under the sun.

⁸ There is one alone, and there is not a second; yea, he hath neither child nor brother: yet is there no end of all his labour; neither is his eye satisfied with riches; neither saith he, For whom do I labour, and bereave my soul of good? This is also vanity, yea, it is a sore travail.

⁹ Two are better than one; because they have a good reward for their labour.

¹⁰ For if they fall, the one will lift up his fellow: but woe to him that is alone when he falleth; for he hath not another to help him up.

¹¹ Again, if two lie together, then they have heat: but how can one be warm alone?

⁵ The fool foldeth his hands together, and eateth his own flesh.

⁶ Better is a handful of quiet, than both the hands full of toil and torture of spirit.

⁷ Then I turned about, and I saw a vanity under the sun.

⁸ There is one alone, and he hath not a companion; yea, he hath neither son nor brother: yet is there no end to all his toil; his eye also is not satisfied with riches. Yet for whom do I toil, and deprive my soul of good? Also this is vanity, yea, it is a bad employment.

⁹ Two are better than one; because they will have a good reward for their toil.

¹⁰ For if they fall, the one will lift up his fellow; but woe to the single one that falleth; for he hath no companion to lift him up.

¹¹ Also, if two lie together, then will they become warm; but how can one person alone become warm?

⁵ The fool folds his hands together, And eats his own flesh.

⁶ Better is a handful of rest Than two handfuls of trouble And waywardness of spirit.

⁷ So I returned, and saw vanity under the sun.

⁸ There is one alone, and there is not a second; Yea, he has neither son nor brother: Yet there is no end to all his labor; Neither is his eye satisfied with wealth; And for whom do I labor, And deprive my soul of good? This is also vanity, And an evil trouble.

⁹ Two are better than one, Seeing they have a good reward for their labor.

¹⁰ For if they fall, the one will lift up his fellow: But woe to him that is alone when he falls, And there is not a second to lift him up.

¹¹ Also if two should lie together, they also get heat: But how shall one be warmed alone?

⁵ The fool foldeth his hands together and eateth his own flesh.

⁶ Better is a hand full of quietness, than both hands full of weariness and striving after wind.

⁷ Then I turned and saw other vanity under the sun.

⁸ There is one who is alone, and no one with him; yea, he hath neither son nor brother; yet is there no end to all his labor, and his eye is not satisfied with riches. “For whom, then saith he, do I labor and deprive myself of good?” This also is vanity; yea, it is an evil thing!

⁹ Two are better than one, because they have a good reward for their labor.

¹⁰ For if they fall, the one will lift his fellow up; but woe to him who is alone when he falleth, and hath not another to help him up!

¹¹ Again, if two lie together, then they have heat; but how can one be warm alone?

⁵ The fool folds his hands and does not work, so his food is his own flesh.

⁶ But better is a handful of profit with quiet work than two handfuls with the work that tries to shepherd the wind.

⁷ Then I thought again about more futility, more vanishing vapor under the sun.

⁸ There is the kind of man who is alone. He does not have anyone, no son or brother. There is no end to all his work, and his eyes are not satisfied with gaining wealth. He wonders, “For whom am I toiling and depriving myself of pleasure?” This also is vapor, a bad situation.

⁹ Two people work better than one; together they can earn a good pay for their labor.

¹⁰ For if one falls, the other can lift up his friend. However, sorrow follows the one who is alone when he falls if there is no one to lift him up.

¹¹ If two lie down together, they can be warm, but how can one be warm alone?

⁵ The fool folds his hands together and ruins himself.

⁶ Better is a handful, with quietness, than two handfuls with labor and chasing after wind.

⁷ Then I returned and saw vanity under the sun.

⁸ There is one who is alone, and he has neither son nor brother. There is no end to all of his labor, neither are his eyes satisfied with wealth. “For whom then do I labor and deprive my soul of enjoyment?” This also is vanity. Yes, it is a miserable business.

⁹ Two are better than one, because they have a good reward for their labor.

¹⁰ For if they fall, the one will lift up his fellow; but woe to him who is alone when he falls, and doesn’t have another to lift him up.

¹¹ Again, if two lie together, then they have warmth; but how can one keep warm alone?

⁵ The fool folds his hands together and ruins himself.

⁶ Better is a handful, with quietness, than two handfuls with labour and chasing after wind.

⁷ Then I returned and saw vanity under the sun.

⁸ There is one who is alone, and he has neither son nor brother. There is no end to all of his labour, neither are his eyes satisfied with wealth. “For whom then do I labour and deprive my soul of enjoyment?” This also is vanity. Yes, it is a miserable business.

⁹ Two are better than one, because they have a good reward for their labour.

¹⁰ For if they fall, the one will lift up his fellow; but woe to him who is alone when he falls, and doesn’t have another to lift him up.

¹¹ Again, if two lie together, then they have warmth; but how can one keep warm alone?

⁵ The fool foldeth his hands together, and eateth his own flesh.

⁶ Better is a handful with quietness, than both the hands full with toil and vexation of spirit.

⁷ Then I returned, and I saw vanity under the sun.

⁸ There is one alone , and there is not a second; yes, he hath neither child nor brother: yet is there no end of all his labor; neither is his eye satisfied with riches; neither saith he , For whom do I labor, and bereave my soul of good? This is also vanity, yes, it is a grievous labor.

⁹ Two are better than one; because they have a good reward for their labor.

¹⁰ For if they fall, the one will lift up his fellow: but woe to him that is alone when he falleth; for he hath not another to help him to rise.

¹¹ Again, if two lie together, then they have heat: but how can one be warm alone ?

⁵ The fool folds his hands together and ruins himself.

⁶ Better is a handful, with quietness, than two handfuls with labor and chasing after wind.

⁷ Then I returned and saw vanity under the sun.

⁸ There is one who is alone, and he has neither son nor brother. There is no end to all of his labor, neither are his eyes satisfied with wealth. “For whom then do I labor and deprive my soul of enjoyment?” This also is vanity. Yes, it is a miserable business.

⁹ Two are better than one, because they have a good reward for their labor.

¹⁰ For if they fall, the one will lift up his fellow; but woe to him who is alone when he falls, and doesn’t have another to lift him up.

¹¹ Again, if two lie together, then they have warmth; but how can one keep warm alone?

⁵ The fool folds his hands together and ruins himself.

⁶ Better is a handful, with quietness, than two handfuls with labour and chasing after wind.

⁷ Then I returned and saw vanity under the sun.

⁸ There is one who is alone, and he has neither son nor brother. There is no end to all of his labour, neither are his eyes satisfied with wealth. “For whom then do I labour and deprive my soul of enjoyment?” This also is vanity. Yes, it is a miserable business.

⁹ Two are better than one, because they have a good reward for their labour.

¹⁰ For if they fall, the one will lift up his fellow; but woe to him who is alone when he falls, and doesn’t have another to lift him up.

¹¹ Again, if two lie together, then they have warmth; but how can one keep warm alone?

⁵ A fool foldeth together his hands, and eateth his flesh,

⁶ and saith, Better is an handful, with rest, than ever either hand full, with travail and torment of soul.

⁷ I beheld and found also another vanity under the sun;

⁸ one there is, and he hath not a second; neither a son, nor a brother; and nevertheless he ceaseth not to travail, neither his eyes be filled with riches; neither he bethinketh him, and saith, To whom travail I, and deceive my soul in goods? In this also is vanity, and the worst torment.

⁹ Therefore it is better, that two be together than one; for they have profit of their fellowship.

¹⁰ If one falleth down, he shall be underset of the tother; woe to him that is alone, for when he falleth, he hath none to raise him up.

¹¹ And if twain sleep together, they shall be nourished together; how shall one be made hot?

⁵ A fool foldeth together his hands, and eateth his flesh, (or and eateth his meat),

⁶ and saith, Better is an handful, with rest, than ever either hand full, with travail and torment of soul.

⁷ I beheld and found also another vanity under the sun; (I looked and found more emptiness and futility under the sun;)

⁸ one there is, and he hath not a second; neither a son, nor a brother; and nevertheless he ceaseth not to travail, neither his eyes be (ful)filled with riches; neither he bethinketh ( to) him (self), and saith, To whom travail I, and deceive my soul in goods? In this also is vanity, and the worst torment. (one is alone, and he hath not a second, or someone with him; neither a son, nor a brother; and yet he ceaseth not to labour, and his eyes be not fulfilled with his riches; nor he thinketh to himself, and saith, For whom do I labour, and deprive myself of the enjoyment of good things? This is also empty and futile, and the worst torment.)

⁹ Therefore it is better, that two be together than one; for they have profit of their fellowship. (And so it is better, that two be together, rather than that they be alone; for they shall have profit, or shall benefit, from their fellowship.)

¹⁰ If one falleth down, he shall be underset of the tother; woe to him that is alone, for when he falleth, he hath none to raise him up. (If one falleth down, he shall be helped up by the other; woe to him who is alone, for when he falleth, he hath no one to raise him up again.)

¹¹ And if twain sleep together, they shall be nourished together; (but) how shall one be made hot?

⁵ The fool is clasping his hands, and eating his own flesh:

⁶ 'Better is a handful with quietness, than two handfuls with labour and vexation of spirit.'

⁷ And I have turned, and I see a vain thing under the sun:

⁸ There is one, and there is not a second; even son or brother he hath not, and there is no end to all his labour! His eye also is not satisfied with riches, and he saith not, 'For whom am I labouring and bereaving my soul of good?' This also is vanity, it is a sad travail.

⁹ The two are better than the one, in that they have a good reward by their labour.

¹⁰ For if they fall, the one raiseth up his companion, but woe to the one who falleth and there is not a second to raise him up!

¹¹ Also, if two lie down, then they have heat, but how hath one heat?