Ecclesiastes 4:8-10 in English

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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!

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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!

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.)

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!