New King James Version
Ecclesiastes 4:8
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.
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 Living Translation (NLT)This is the case of a man who is all alone, without a child or a brother, yet who works hard to gain as much wealth as he can. But then he asks himself, “Who am I working for? Why am I giving up so much pleasure now?” It is all so meaningless and depressing.
Context of Ecclesiastes 4:8
6Better a handful with quietness Than both hands full, together with toil and grasping for the wind. 7Then I returned, and I saw vanity under the sun: 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. 9Two are better than one, Because they have a good reward for their labor. 10For if they fall, one will lift up his companion. But woe to him who is alone when he falls, For he has no one to help 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
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 labor.
- Genesis 2:18And the Lord God said, “It is not good that man should be alone; I will make him a helper comparable to him.”
- Isaiah 56:3Do not let the son of the foreigner Who has joined himself to the Lord Speak, saying, “The Lord has utterly separated me from His people”; Nor let the eunuch say, “Here I am, a dry tree.”
- Genesis 15:2But Abram said, “Lord God, what will You give me, seeing I go childless, and the heir of my house is Eliezer of Damascus?”
- Isaiah 5:8Woe to those who join house to house; They add field to field, Till there is no place Where they may dwell alone in the midst of the land!
- Ecclesiastes 1:8All things are full of labor; Man cannot express it. The eye is not satisfied with seeing, Nor the ear filled with hearing.
- Ecclesiastes 5:10He who loves silver will not be satisfied with silver; Nor he who loves abundance, with increase. This also is vanity.
- Proverbs 27:20Hell and Destruction are never full; So the eyes of man are never satisfied.
- Habakkuk 2:5“Indeed, because he transgresses by wine, He is a proud man, And he does not stay at home. Because he enlarges his desire as hell, And he is like death, and cannot be satisfied, He gathers to himself all nations And heaps up for himself all peoples.
- 1 John 2:16For all that is in the world—the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life—is not of the Father but is of the world.
- Psalms 39:6Surely every man walks about like a shadow; Surely they busy themselves in vain; He heaps up riches, And does not know who will gather them.
- Isaiah 44:19And no one considers in his heart, Nor is there knowledge nor understanding to say, “I have burned half of it in the fire, Yes, I have also baked bread on its coals; I have roasted meat and eaten it; And shall I make the rest of it an abomination? Shall I fall down before a block of wood?”
- Luke 12:20But God said to him, ‘Fool! This night your soul will be required of you; then whose will those things be which you have provided?’
- Ecclesiastes 1:13And I set my heart to seek and search out by wisdom concerning all that is done under heaven; this burdensome task God has given to the sons of man, by which they may be exercised.
- Ecclesiastes 2:23For all his days are sorrowful, and his work burdensome; even in the night his heart takes no rest. This also is vanity.
- Isaiah 55:2Why do you spend money for what is not bread, And your wages for what does not satisfy? Listen carefully to Me, and eat what is good, And let your soul delight itself in abundance.
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
New King James Version — © 1982 Thomas Nelson, Inc
Commentaries