Ecclesiastes 4:8

Ecclesiastes 4:8 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)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.
• New International Version (NIV)There was a man all alone; he had neither son nor brother. There was no end to his toil, yet his eyes were not content with his wealth. “For whom am I toiling,” he asked, “and why am I depriving myself of enjoyment?” This too is meaningless— a miserable business!
• English Standard Version (ESV)one person who has no other, either son or brother, yet there is no end to all his toil, and his eyes are never satisfied with riches, so that he never asks, "For whom am I toiling and depriving myself of pleasure?" This also is vanity and an unhappy business.
• New King James Version (NKJV)There is one alone, without companion: He has neither son nor brother. Yet there is no end to all his labors, Nor is his eye satisfied with riches. But he never asks, “For whom do I toil and deprive myself of good?” This also is vanity and a grave misfortune.

Context of Ecclesiastes 4:8

6One hand full of rest and patience is better than two fists full of labor and chasing after the wind. 7Then I looked again at vanity under the sun [in one of its peculiar forms]. There was a certain man—without a dependent, having neither a child nor a brother, yet there was no end to all his labor. Indeed, his eyes were not satisfied with riches and he never asked, “For whom do I labor and deprive myself of pleasure?” This too is vanity (a wisp of smoke, self-conceit); yes, it is a painful effort and an unhappy task. 9Two are better than one because they have a more satisfying return for their labor; 10for if either of them falls, the one will lift up his companion. But woe to him who is alone when he falls and does not have another to lift him up.

Ecclesiastes 4:8 word by word

יֵ֣שׁ אֶחָד֩ וְאֵ֨ין שֵׁנִ֜י גַּ֣ם בֵּ֧ן וָאָ֣ח אֵֽין־ל֗וֹ וְאֵ֥ין קֵץ֙ לְכָל־עֲמָל֔וֹ גַּם־עֵינ֖וֹ לֹא־תִשְׂבַּ֣ע עֹ֑שֶׁר וּלְמִ֣י׀ אֲנִ֣י עָמֵ֗ל וּמְחַסֵּ֤ר אֶת־נַפְשִׁי֙ מִטּוֹבָ֔ה גַּם־זֶ֥ה הֶ֛בֶל וְעִנְיַ֥ן רָ֖ע הֽוּא׃Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• There isיֵשׁyêsh · thereH3426
• oneאֶחָד'echâd · oneH259
• not a secondשֵׁנִיshênîy · secondH8145
• yea, he hath neither childבֵּןbên · son: childH1121
• nor brotherאָח'âch · brother: male-siblingH251
• no endקֵץqêts · endH7093
• of all his labourעָמָל‛âmâl · troubleH5999
• neither is his eyeעַ֫יִן‛ayin · eyeH5869
• satisfiedשָׂבֵעַώâba‛ ώâbêa‛ · to satisfyH7646
• with richesעֹ֫שֶׁר‛ôsher · richesH6239
• For whom do I labourעָמֵל‛âmêl · laboriousH6001
• and bereaveחָסֵרchâsêr · to lackH2637
• my soulנֶ֫פֶשׁnephesh · soul: myselfH5315
• of goodטוֹבָהţôb · welfareH2896
• also vanityהֶ֫בֶלhebel hăbêl · vanityH1892
• a soreרַעra‛ râ‛âh · bad: harmfulH7451
• travailעִנְיָן‛inyân · taskH6045

Cross-references for Ecclesiastes 4:8

• Ecclesiastes 4:9Two are better than one because they have a more satisfying return for their labor;
• Genesis 2:18Now the Lord God said, “It is not good (beneficial) for the man to be alone; I will make him a helper [one who balances him—a counterpart who is] suitable and complementary for him.”
• Isaiah 56:3Do not let the foreigner who has joined himself to the Lord say, “The Lord will most certainly separate me from His people.” And do not let the eunuch say, “Look, I am a dry tree.”
• Genesis 15:2Abram said, “Lord God, what reward will You give me, since I am [leaving this world] childless, and he who will be the owner and heir of my house is this [servant] Eliezer from Damascus?”
• Isaiah 5:8Woe (judgment is coming) to those who join house to house and join field to field [to increase their holdings by depriving others], Until there is no more room [for others], So that you have to live alone in the midst of the land!
• Ecclesiastes 1:8All things are wearisome and all words are frail; Man cannot express it. The eye is not satisfied with seeing, Nor is the ear filled with hearing.
• Ecclesiastes 5:10He who loves money will not be satisfied with money, nor he who loves abundance with its gain. This too is vanity (emptiness).
• Proverbs 27:20Sheol (the place of the dead) and Abaddon (the underworld) are never satisfied; Nor are the eyes of man ever satisfied.
• Habakkuk 2:5Moreover, wine is treacherous and betrays the arrogant man, So that he does not stay at home. His appetite is large like Sheol, And he is like death, never satisfied. He gathers to himself all nations And collects to himself all peoples [as if he owned them].
• 1 John 2:16For all that is in the world—the lust and sensual craving of the flesh and the lust and longing of the eyes and the boastful pride of life [pretentious confidence in one’s resources or in the stability of earthly things]—these do not come from the Father, but are from the world.
• Psalms 39:6Surely every man walks around like a shadow [in a charade]; Surely they make an uproar for nothing; Each one builds up riches, not knowing who will receive them.
• Isaiah 44:19No one remembers, nor has knowledge and understanding [enough] to say [to himself], “I have burned half of this log in the fire, and also baked bread on its coals and have roasted meat and eaten it. Then I make the rest of it into an repulsive thing [to God]; I bow down [to worship] before a block of wood!”
• Luke 12:20But God said to him, ‘You fool! This very night your soul is required of you; and now who will own all the things you have prepared?’
• Ecclesiastes 1:13And I set my mind to seek and explore by [man’s] wisdom all [human activity] that has been done under heaven. It is a miserable business and a burdensome task which God has given the sons of men with which to be busy and distressed.
• Ecclesiastes 2:23For all his days his work is painful and sorrowful; even at night his mind does not rest. This too is vanity (worthless).
• Isaiah 55:2Why do you spend money for that which is not bread, And your earnings for what does not satisfy? Listen carefully to Me, and eat what is good, And let your soul delight in abundance.

Commentaries on Ecclesiastes 4:8

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 8There is one alone, and there is not a second - Here covetousness and avarice are characterized. The man who is the center of his own existence; has neither wife, child, nor legal heir; and yet is as intent on getting money as if he had the largest family to provide for; nor does he only labor with intense application, but he even refuses himself the comforts of life out of his own gains! This is not only vanity, the excess of foolishness, but it is also…Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 7-12Verses 7-12 The spectacle of a prosperous man whose condition is rendered vain by his brotherless, childless isolation. Ecclesiastes 4:8 A second - Any one associated or connected with him. Ecclesiastes 4:9-12 Compare a saying from the Talmud: “A man without companions is like the left hand without the right.”Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 7-8This lonely man is an example of the idea in Ecclesiastes 4:6.Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 88. not a second--no partner. child--"son or brother," put for any heir (De 25:5-10). eye--(Ec 1:8). The miser would not be able to give an account of his infatuation.Read the comment

Topics related to Ecclesiastes 4:8

• Avarice
• Care
• Covetousness
• Miser
• Vanity

In the dictionaries

• Prison
• Threefold
• Bereave; Bereaver; Bereft
• Riches
• Synagogue, the Great

Commentaries on Ecclesiastes 4

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
• Tyndale Open Study Notes
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
• Rashi on Tanakh
• Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
• John Wesley’s Notes
• Darby Translation Notes
• Geneva Bible Translation Notes
• Kingcomments
• Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
• Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
• Original Douay–Rheims Annotations
• Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
• EGW Writings