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Ecclesiastes 4:7

5 The fool folds his hands and consumes his own flesh.

6 Better one handful with tranquility than two handfuls with toil and pursuit of the wind.

Again, I saw futility under the sun.

8 There is a man all alone, without even a son or brother. And though there is no end to his labor, his eyes are still not content with his wealth: “For whom do I toil and bereave my soul of enjoyment?” This too is futile—a miserable task.

9 Two are better than one, because they have a good return for their labor.

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Do read the surrounding verses too, because the context often says more than a single verse.

Compare

BSB
Again, I saw futility under the sun.
KJV
Then I returned, and I saw vanity under the sun.
WEB
Then I returned and saw vanity under the sun.
ASV
Then I returned and saw vanity under the sun.
DARBY
And I returned and saw vanity under the sun.
BLB
And I turned, and I saw a vapor under the sun:
ÅB
Og enda mere tomhet ble jeg var under solen:
OTB
Igjen så jeg noe fåfengt under solen:
B1930
Og ennu mere tomhet blev jeg var under solen:

Study notes (Tyndale)

Original text and word study

Cross references

  • Ecclesiastes 4:1

    Again I looked, and I considered all the oppression taking place under the sun. I saw the tears of the oppressed, and they had no comforter; the power lay in the hands of their oppressors, and there was no comforter.

    Read in context

  • Psalms 78:33

    So He ended their days in futility, and their years in sudden terror.

    Read in context

  • Zechariah 1:6

    But did not My words and My statutes, which I commanded My servants the prophets, overtake your fathers? They repented and said, ‘Just as the LORD of Hosts purposed to do to us according to our ways and deeds, so He has done to us.’”

    Read in context