New Living Translation
Ecclesiastes 4:8
8This 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.
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
6And yet, “Better to have one handful with quietness than two handfuls with hard work and chasing the wind.” 7I observed yet another example of something meaningless under the sun. 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. 9Two people are better off than one, for they can help each other succeed. 10If one person falls, the other can reach out and help. But someone who falls alone is in real trouble.
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 people are better off than one, for they can help each other succeed.
- Genesis 2:18Then the Lord God said, “It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper who is just right for him.”
- Isaiah 56:3“Don’t let foreigners who commit themselves to the Lord say, ‘The Lord will never let me be part of his people.’ And don’t let the eunuchs say, ‘I’m a dried-up tree with no children and no future.’
- Genesis 15:2But Abram replied, “O Sovereign Lord, what good are all your blessings when I don’t even have a son? Since you’ve given me no children, Eliezer of Damascus, a servant in my household, will inherit all my wealth.
- Isaiah 5:8What sorrow for you who buy up house after house and field after field, until everyone is evicted and you live alone in the land.
- Ecclesiastes 1:8Everything is wearisome beyond description. No matter how much we see, we are never satisfied. No matter how much we hear, we are not content.
- Ecclesiastes 5:10Those who love money will never have enough. How meaningless to think that wealth brings true happiness!
- Proverbs 27:20Just as Death and Destruction are never satisfied, so human desire is never satisfied.
- Habakkuk 2:5Wealth is treacherous, and the arrogant are never at rest. They open their mouths as wide as the grave, and like death, they are never satisfied. In their greed they have gathered up many nations and swallowed many peoples.
- 1 John 2:16For the world offers only a craving for physical pleasure, a craving for everything we see, and pride in our achievements and possessions. These are not from the Father, but are from this world.
- Psalms 39:6We are merely moving shadows, and all our busy rushing ends in nothing. We heap up wealth, not knowing who will spend it.
- Isaiah 44:19The person who made the idol never stops to reflect, “Why, it’s just a block of wood! I burned half of it for heat and used it to bake my bread and roast my meat. How can the rest of it be a god? Should I bow down to worship a piece of wood?”
- Luke 12:20“But God said to him, ‘You fool! You will die this very night. Then who will get everything you worked for?’
- Ecclesiastes 1:13I devoted myself to search for understanding and to explore by wisdom everything being done under heaven. I soon discovered that God has dealt a tragic existence to the human race.
- Ecclesiastes 2:23Their days of labor are filled with pain and grief; even at night their minds cannot rest. It is all meaningless.
- Isaiah 55:2Why spend your money on food that does not give you strength? Why pay for food that does you no good? Listen to me, and you will eat what is good. You will enjoy the finest 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
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 Living Translation — © 1996, 2004, 2015 Tyndale House Foundation
Commentaries