Ecclesiastes 4:7

Ecclesiastes 4:7 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)Then I returned, and I saw vanity under the sun.
• New International Version (NIV)Again I saw something meaningless under the sun:
• English Standard Version (ESV)Again, I saw vanity under the sun:
• New King James Version (NKJV)Then I returned, and I saw vanity under the sun:

Context of Ecclesiastes 4:7

5Foolish people refuse to work. They sit and they do nothing. So they become hungry and they die. 6It is good to have only a little food and be happy. That is better than too much hard work that gives you a lot of food. It is as useless as somebody who tries to catch the wind. I thought about something else on the earth that has no purpose. 8There are people who live alone. They have no friends, children or brothers. They work hard every day. They want to get more riches for themselves. But they are never happy with the things that they have. They should ask themselves, ‘Why am I working so hard? Am I helping anybody? I am not doing things that make me happy.’ Their work has no purpose. It only brings trouble to their lives. 9Two people who work together are better than one person who works alone. They can help each other to work well.

Ecclesiastes 4:7 word by word

וְשַׁ֧בְתִּי אֲנִ֛י וָאֶרְאֶ֥ה הֶ֖בֶל תַּ֥חַת הַשָּֽׁמֶשׁ׃Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• Then I returnedשׁוּבshûb · to return: againH7725
• and I sawרָאָהrâ'âh · to see: seeH7200
• vanityהֶ֫בֶלhebel hăbêl · vanityH1892
• under the sunשֶׁ֫מֶשׁshemesh · sunH8121

Cross-references for Ecclesiastes 4:7

• Psalms 78:33So he made their lives end quickly, like a breath. They became very afraid.
• Zechariah 1:6I told my prophets to speak my message and my commands. I punished your ancestors, as I warned them I would do. Then they turned back to me. They said, “The Lord Almighty has punished us for our sins, as he said he would do.” ’

Commentaries on Ecclesiastes 4:7

• 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
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 7Verse 7 ,8 Frequently, the more men have, the more they would have; and on this they are so intent, that they get no enjoyment from what they have. Selfishness is the cause of this evil. A selfish man cares for nobody; there is none to take care of but himself, yet he will scarcely allow necessary rest to himself, and the people he employs. He never thinks he has enough. He has enough for his calling, for his family, but he has not enough for his eyes…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. 77. A vanity described in Ec 4:8.Read the comment

Topics related to Ecclesiastes 4:7

• Avarice
• Miser

In the dictionaries

• Prison
• Threefold
• 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