New King James Version
Ecclesiastes 4:7
7Then I returned, and I saw vanity under the sun:
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 Living Translation (NLT)I observed yet another example of something meaningless under the sun.
Context of Ecclesiastes 4:7
5The fool folds his hands And consumes his own flesh. 6Better a handful with quietness Than both hands full, together with toil and grasping for the wind. Then I returned, and I saw vanity under the sun: 8There 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. 9Two are better than one, Because they have a good reward for their labor.
Read all of Ecclesiastes 4Ecclesiastes 4:7 word by word
וְשַׁ֧בְתִּי אֲנִ֛י וָאֶרְאֶ֥ה הֶ֖בֶל תַּ֥חַת הַשָּֽׁמֶשׁ׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
Cross-references for Ecclesiastes 4:7
- Psalms 78:33Therefore their days He consumed in futility, And their years in fear.
- Zechariah 1:6Yet surely My words and My statutes, Which I commanded My servants the prophets, Did they not overtake your fathers? “So they returned and said: ‘Just as the Lord of hosts determined to do to us, According to our ways and according to our deeds, So He has dealt with us.’ ” ’ ”
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
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
New King James Version — © 1982 Thomas Nelson, Inc
Commentaries