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

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. 7I thought about something else on the earth that has no purpose. There 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. 10If one of them falls down, his friend can help him to get up. But it is terrible if you fall down when you are alone. There is nobody who can help you to stand up again.

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 people who work together are better than one person who works alone. They can help each other to work well.
• Genesis 2:18Then the Lord God said, ‘It is not good for the man to live alone. I will make a helper who is right for him.’
• Isaiah 56:3When a foreigner decides to serve the Lord, he should not say, “The Lord will keep me separate from his own people.” A eunuch should not say, “I am no better than a dead tree.” ’
• Genesis 15:2But Abram said, ‘Almighty Lord, there is one gift that I want. I still have no children. When I die, Eliezer of Damascus will receive everything that I have.
• Isaiah 5:8It will be very bad for you people who buy many houses for yourselves. You also buy land to join to the land that you already have. Then there is no more land left for anyone else. You are the only people who remain on the land.
• Ecclesiastes 1:8Everything continues in the same way. There is nothing important to talk about. Nothing that we see is enough to make us happy. There are always more things that we want to hear.
• Ecclesiastes 5:10People who love money never have enough. They may get more and more valuable things, but they are never happy. This also has no purpose.
• Proverbs 27:20The deep hole of death always wants more dead people to fill it. In the same way, a person wants to have everything that he sees.
• Habakkuk 2:5Wine will destroy that proud enemy. They do not stop attacking other people. They never have enough for themselves. They are like death that is so hungry that it eats as much as it can. The deep hole of death eats everything. The cruel enemy is like that! They want all the nations to belong to them. They catch everyone to be their prisoners.
• 1 John 2:16What are the wrong things that belong to this world? People want to do bad things to make themselves happy. People want to have things that they see, even bad things. People want to show other people how rich they are. These ideas do not come from God, our Father. They are the thoughts of people who belong to the world.
• Psalms 39:6As we live, we are just like shadows. We work to get things for ourselves. We may get a lot of money, but we do not know who will have it after we die.’
• Isaiah 44:19None of them think carefully about what they are doing. They do not say to themselves, ‘I burned half of the wood in the fire. I even baked bread and I cooked meat on it. It gave me food to eat. Then I used the rest of the wood to make a useless idol! I took a piece of wood and I worshipped it! Why did I do that?’
• Luke 12:20But then God said to the man, “You are a fool! Tonight you will die. You will have to leave everything behind that you have stored. Somebody else will have them, but you will not!” ’
• Ecclesiastes 1:13I decided to study everything that happens on the earth. I used wisdom to try to understand these things. I realized that God has given people hard work to do, which causes them to suffer.
• Ecclesiastes 2:23Every day, their work causes their bodies to suffer. At night, their minds do not have any rest. All this has no purpose.
• Isaiah 55:2Do not spend money on anything that is not real food. You work hard for your money, so do not spend it on things which do not help you. Listen carefully to me. Eat something that will make you strong! Enjoy the best food!

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