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Ecclesiastes 4:7-12, King James Version
Italic words were supplied in the English translation for clarity.
Ecclesiastes 4:7-12
Solitary Toil and the Strength of Companionship
One alone, and two better than one
There is one alone, not a second; yet he has neither child nor brother, and there is no end of his labor; his eye is not satisfied with riches. For whom do I labor?
Two are better than one because they have a good reward. If they fall, one will lift the other. If two lie together, they have heat. A threefold cord is not quickly broken. Companionship here is practical help, not a romance slogan and not a command that every person must marry.
How this should shape us
Notice who has no one to hand work to, and who has no one to lift them. Build actual mutual aid. Do not use the cord proverb to trap someone in an unsafe pair.
Teach it back
Explain Ecclesiastes 4:7-12 in your own words. Include its movement, one material uncertainty, and one harmful or reductive use the context rules out.
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Go deeper
The explanation above is meant to stand on its own. Open these notes only if you want language, history, disagreements, or source locations.
Where careful interpreters disagreeThe strongest options and their difficulties
Where do careful interpreters disagree?
Best judgment: The identity of the solitary person, the social setting for warmth, the scope of 'two,' and allegorical readings of the third strand are debated.
How certain? probableResearch trail and exact locationsThe source record behind this section
Supports: Exact displayed Scripture wording, paragraph markers, supplied-word markup, and complete verse coverage.
Ecclesiastes 4:7-12, repository-pinned eng-kjv2006 USFM corpus
Supports: Masoretic Hebrew wording and morphology used for lexical, grammatical, repeated-word, and translation questions.
Open Scriptures MorphHB v2.2, commit 6a5db284c715c18b239422e57bb89684e6a19f00, wlc/Eccl.xml, 4:7-12
Supports: Verse-level textual, grammatical, lexical, literary, and translation alternatives.
NET Bible Ecclesiastes PDF, printed pp. 1200-1201, translation and notes on 4:7-12
Supports: Whole-book orientation, language and date questions, Qoheleth's voice, unit movement, irony, contradiction, enjoyment, death, judgment, and epilogue.
Weeks, 'Ecclesiastes,' Oxford Bible Commentary, printed pp. 422-428, commentary relevant to 4:7-12
Sources for This Section
These records identify the source, the claim it supports, and the exact location used. A source remains evidence to evaluate; it does not replace the biblical text.
Biblical text
King James (Authorized) Version — eng-kjv2006
eBible.org and CrossWire Bible Society
USFM archive eng-kjv2006_usfm.zip; source files dated 2026-08-19; downloaded 2026-08-24; archive SHA-256 aec1b3b26c622fd3d963d2bbac963016b9513246ffbfa20da00bb100372ea007; normalized corpus SHA-256 09aef51d90488aa7b9722b3fd9a93f4b25f6bf2064c5fd798fb39673c300ddf2.
Supports: Exact displayed Scripture wording, paragraph markers, supplied-word markup, and complete verse coverage.
Exact location: Ecclesiastes 4:7-12, repository-pinned eng-kjv2006 USFM corpus
Open source ↗hebrew text and morphology
Open Scriptures Hebrew Bible: Ecclesiastes
Open Scriptures
Open Scriptures, release 2.2
Supports: Masoretic Hebrew wording and morphology used for lexical, grammatical, repeated-word, and translation questions.
Exact location: Open Scriptures MorphHB v2.2, commit 6a5db284c715c18b239422e57bb89684e6a19f00, wlc/Eccl.xml, 4:7-12
Open source ↗translation and translator notes
NET Bible: Ecclesiastes with translators' notes
Biblical Studies Press
Biblical Studies Press, 2006
Supports: Verse-level textual, grammatical, lexical, literary, and translation alternatives.
Exact location: NET Bible Ecclesiastes PDF, printed pp. 1200-1201, translation and notes on 4:7-12
Open source ↗modern critical commentary
Ecclesiastes
Stuart Weeks
Oxford University Press, in The Oxford Bible Commentary, 2001
Supports: Whole-book orientation, language and date questions, Qoheleth's voice, unit movement, irony, contradiction, enjoyment, death, judgment, and epilogue.
Exact location: Weeks, 'Ecclesiastes,' Oxford Bible Commentary, printed pp. 422-428, commentary relevant to 4:7-12
Open source ↗