Ecclesiastes 4:7

7 I turned my head and saw yet another wisp of smoke on its way to nothingness:

Ecclesiastes 4:7 Meaning and Commentary

Ecclesiastes 4:7

Then I returned, and I saw vanity under the sun.
] Another vanity besides what he had taken notice of, and is as follows. Aben Ezra's note is,

``I turned from considering the words of this fool, and I saw another fool, the reverse of the former.''

Ecclesiastes 4:7 In-Context

5 The fool sits back and takes it easy, His sloth is slow suicide.
6 One handful of peaceful repose Is better than two fistfuls of worried work - More spitting into the wind.
7 I turned my head and saw yet another wisp of smoke on its way to nothingness:
8 a solitary person, completely alone - no children, no family, no friends - yet working obsessively late into the night, compulsively greedy for more and more, never bothering to ask, "Why am I working like a dog, never having any fun? And who cares?" More smoke. A bad business.
9 It's better to have a partner than go it alone. Share the work, share the wealth.
Published by permission. Originally published by NavPress in English as THE MESSAGE: The Bible in Contemporary Language copyright 2002 by Eugene Peterson. All rights reserved.