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

6Better one handful with rest than two handfuls with effort and a pursuit of the wind. 7Again, I saw futility under the sun: There is a person without a companion, without even a son or brother, and though there is no end to all his struggles, his eyes are still not content with riches. “Who am I struggling for,” he asks, “and depriving myself of good things?” This too is futile and a miserable task. 9Two are better than one because they have a good reward for their efforts. 10For if either falls, his companion can lift him up; but pity the one who falls without 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 good reward for their efforts.
• Genesis 2:18Then the Lord God said, “It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper corresponding to him.”
• Isaiah 56:3No foreigner who has joined himself to the Lord should say, “The Lord will exclude me from his people,” and the eunuch should not say, “Look, I am a dried-up tree.”
• Genesis 15:2But Abram said, “Lord God, what can you give me, since I am childless and the heir of my house is Eliezer of Damascus?”
• Isaiah 5:8Woe to those who add house to house and join field to field until there is no more room and you alone are left in the land.
• Ecclesiastes 1:8All things are wearisome, more than anyone can say. The eye is not satisfied by seeing or the ear filled with hearing.
• Ecclesiastes 5:10The one who loves silver is never satisfied with silver, and whoever loves wealth is never satisfied with income. This too is futile.
• Proverbs 27:20Sheol and Abaddon are never satisfied, and people’s eyes are never satisfied.
• Habakkuk 2:5Moreover, wine betrays; an arrogant man is never at rest. He enlarges his appetite like Sheol, and like Death he is never satisfied. He gathers all the nations to himself; he collects all the peoples for himself.
• 1 John 2:16For everything in the world — the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride in one’s possessions — is not from the Father, but is from the world.
• Psalms 39:6Yes, a person goes about like a mere shadow. Indeed, they rush around in vain, gathering possessions without knowing who will get them.
• Isaiah 44:19No one comes to his senses; no one has the perception or insight to say, “I burned half of it in the fire, I also baked bread on its coals, I roasted meat and ate. Should I make something detestable with the rest of it? Should I bow down to a block of wood?”
• Luke 12:20“But God said to him, ‘You fool! This very night your life is demanded of you. And the things you have prepared — whose will they be?’
• Ecclesiastes 1:13I applied my mind to examine and explore through wisdom all that is done under heaven. God has given people this miserable task to keep them occupied.
• Ecclesiastes 2:23For all his days are filled with grief, and his occupation is sorrowful; even at night, his mind does not rest. This too is futile.
• Isaiah 55:2Why do you spend silver on what is not food, and your wages on what does not satisfy? Listen carefully to me, and eat what is good, and you will enjoy the choicest of foods.

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