Parallel Bible results for "ecclesiastes 4:4-16"

Ecclesiastes 4:4-16

Good News Translation GNT

4 I have also learned why people work so hard to succeed: it is because they envy the things their neighbors have. But it is useless. It is like chasing the wind.

5 They say that we would be fools to fold our hands and let ourselves starve to death.

6 Maybe so, but it is better to have only a little, with peace of mind, than be busy all the time with both hands, trying to catch the wind.

7 I have noticed something else in life that is useless.

8 Here is someone who lives alone. He has no son, no brother, yet he is always working, never satisfied with the wealth he has. For whom is he working so hard and denying himself any pleasure? This is useless, too - and a miserable way to live.

9 Two are better off than one, because together they can work more effectively.

10 If one of them falls down, the other can help him up. But if someone is alone and falls, it's just too bad, because there is no one to help him.

11 If it is cold, two can sleep together and stay warm, but how can you keep warm by yourself?

12 Two people can resist an attack that would defeat one person alone. A rope made of three cords is hard to break.

13 Someone may rise from poverty to become king of his country, or go from prison to the throne, but if in his old age he is too foolish to take advice, he is not as well off as a young man who is poor but intelligent.

15 I thought about all the people who live in this world, and I realized that somewhere among them there is a young man who will take the king's place.

16 There may be no limit to the number of people a king rules; when he is gone, no one will be grateful for what he has done. It is useless. It is like chasing the wind.

New International Version NIV

4 And I saw that all toil and all achievement spring from one person’s envy of another. This too is meaningless, a chasing after the wind.

5 Fools fold their hands and ruin themselves.

6 Better one handful with tranquillity than two handfuls with toil and chasing after the wind.

7 Again I saw something meaningless under the sun:

8 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!

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

10 If either of them falls down, one can help the other up. But pity anyone who falls and has no one to help them up.

11 Also, if two lie down together, they will keep warm. But how can one keep warm alone?

12 Though one may be overpowered, two can defend themselves. A cord of three strands is not quickly broken.

13 Better a poor but wise youth than an old but foolish king who no longer knows how to heed a warning.

15 I saw that all who lived and walked under the sun followed the youth, the king’s successor.

16 There was no end to all the people who were before them. But those who came later were not pleased with the successor. This too is meaningless, a chasing after the wind.