American Standard Version
Ecclesiastes 4:8
8There 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.
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
6Better is a handful, with quietness, than two handfuls with labor and striving after wind. 7Then I returned and saw vanity under the sun. 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. 9Two are better than one, because they have a good reward for their labor. 10For 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.
Read all of Ecclesiastes 4Ecclesiastes 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
- oneאֶחָד'echâd · oneH259
- secondשֵׁנִיshênîy · secondH8145
- sonבֵּןbên · son: childH1121
- brotherאָח'âch · brother: male-siblingH251
- endקֵץqêts · endH7093
- laborעָמָל‛âmâl · troubleH5999
- eyesעַ֫יִן‛ayin · eyeH5869
- satisfiedשָׂבֵעַώâba‛ ώâbêa‛ · to satisfyH7646
- richesעֹ֫שֶׁר‛ôsher · richesH6239
- soulנֶ֫פֶשׁnephesh · soulH5315
- goodטוֹבָהţôb · welfareH2896
- alsoגַּםgam · alsoH1571
- vanityהֶ֫בֶלhebel hăbêl · vanityH1892
Cross-references for Ecclesiastes 4:8
- Ecclesiastes 4:9Two are better than one, because they have a good reward for their labor.
- Genesis 2:18And Jehovah God said, It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him a help meet for him.
- Isaiah 56:3Neither let the foreigner, that hath joined himself to Jehovah, speak, saying, Jehovah will surely separate me from his people; neither let the eunuch say, Behold, I am a dry tree.
- Genesis 15:2And Abram said, O Lord Jehovah, what wilt thou give me, seeing I go childless, and he that shall be possessor of my house is Eliezer of Damascus?
- Isaiah 5:8Woe unto them that join house to house, that lay field to field, till there be no room, and ye be made to dwell alone in the midst of the land!
- Ecclesiastes 1:8All things are full of weariness; man cannot utter it: the eye is not satisfied with seeing, nor the ear filled with hearing.
- Ecclesiastes 5:10He that loveth silver shall not be satisfied with silver; nor he that loveth abundance, with increase: this also is vanity.
- Proverbs 27:20Sheol and Abaddon are never satisfied; And the eyes of man are never satisfied.
- Habakkuk 2:5Yea, moreover, wine is treacherous, a haughty man, that keepeth not at home; who enlargeth his desire as Sheol, and he is as death, and cannot be satisfied, but gathereth unto him all nations, and heapeth unto him all peoples.
- 1 John 2:16For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes and the vainglory of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world.
- Psalms 39:6Surely every man walketh in a vain show; Surely they are disquieted in vain: He heapeth up riches, and knoweth not who shall gather them.
- Isaiah 44:19And none calleth to mind, neither is there knowledge nor understanding to say, I have burned part of it in the fire; yea, also I have baked bread upon the coals thereof; I have roasted flesh and eaten it: and shall I make the residue thereof an abomination? shall I fall down to the stock of a tree?
- Luke 12:20But God said unto him, Thou foolish one, this night is thy soul required of thee; and the things which thou hast prepared, whose shall they be?
- Ecclesiastes 1:13And I applied my heart to seek and to search out by wisdom concerning all that is done under heaven: it is a sore travail that God hath given to the sons of men to be exercised therewith.
- Ecclesiastes 2:23For all his days are but sorrows, and his travail is grief; yea, even in the night his heart taketh no rest. This also is vanity.
- Isaiah 55:2Wherefore do ye spend money for that which is not bread? and your labor for that which satisfieth not? hearken diligently unto me, and eat ye that which is good, and let your soul delight itself in fatness.
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
In the dictionaries
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
American Standard Version — 1901 — Public Domain
Commentaries