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

Ecclesiastes 4:4-16

The Message Bible MSG

4 Then I observed all the work and ambition motivated by envy. What a waste! Smoke. And spitting into the wind.

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.

10 And if one falls down, the other helps, But if there's no one to help, tough!

11 Two in a bed warm each other. Alone, you shiver all night.

12 By yourself you're unprotected. With a friend you can face the worst. Can you round up a third? A three-stranded rope isn't easily snapped.

13 A poor youngster with some wisdom is better off than an old but foolish king who doesn't know which end is up.

14 I saw a youth just like this start with nothing and go from rags to riches,

15 and I saw everyone rally to the rule of this young successor to the king.

16 Even so, the excitement died quickly, the throngs of people soon lost interest. Can't you see it's only smoke? And spitting into 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.

14 The youth may have come from prison to the kingship, or he may have been born in poverty within his kingdom.

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.