Ecclesiastes 4:9
in Ecclesiastes 4Two are better than one, because they have a good return for their labor.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Two are better than one, because they have a good reward for their labor.
KJV
Two are better than one; because they have a good reward for their labour.
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This verse in Ecclesiastes 4
Commentary
6 notes on this verseTwo are better than one,.... The wise man takes occasion, from the solitariness Of the covetous man before described, to show in this and some following verses the preferableness and advantages of social life; which, as it holds true in things natural and civil, so in things spiritual and religious; man is a sociable creature, was made to be so; and it was the judgment of God, which is according to truth, and who can never err, that it was not good for man to be alone, Gen 2:
This site's exposition
Two are better than one
on Ecclesiastes 4:9-12
Against the lone man, the Teacher argues for companionship in four parts: a good return, help to lift him up, warmth together, and strength. The case closes on its proverb, a cord of three strands is not quickly broken, read since the Targum as friendship strengthened by a third.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers1 voice
"Two are better than one, for they get a greater return for their labour. For should they fall, one can raise the other; but woe to him who is alone when he falls and there is no one to raise him! Also, if two sleep together they keep warm, but how can one be warm alone? Where one can be overpowered, two can resist attack; A three-ply cord is not easily severed!"
The Medieval Church1 voice
A commentator
BonaventureCommentary on Ecclesiastes, Chapter 4 · Written in the 13th century.
proposed
"It is better, therefore, that two be together" etc. Here is touched upon secondly the commendation of the companionship of another, and this in detestation of the solicitude of avarice: on account of which he says: "It is better, therefore, that two be together," although …
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
Two are better than one - Married life is infinitely to be preferred to this kind of life, for the very reasons alleged below, and which require no explanation.
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
Two--opposed to "one" (Ec 4:8). Ties of union, marriage, friendship, religious communion, are better than the selfish solitariness of the miser (Ge 2:18). reward--Advantage accrues from their efforts being conjoined. The Talmud says, "A man without a companion is like a left hand without the right.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — odd-straight-quotes
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
On the verses either side of this one
For if they fall. [To be understood] according to its apparent meaning.
1 more on this passage, in their own words ▾
For if one of them falls upon the bed and lies sick, the other will cause his friend to rise by his prayer; but if there is only one innocent man in a generation, if he falls upon the bed and lies sick, he has no companion in his generation to pray for him, yet shall he rise by his own merit from his sickness.
This section is reception history: how the passage was read and kept in the Jewish tradition. Where a reading parts from an essential of the Christian faith, the section says so at that point.
Texts and citation data: Sefaria; each excerpt follows its version’s licence. 2 further sources are cited on this chapter that carry no English text this site may quote or only restate the verse.
The words behind it
10 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| טוֹבִ֥ים | tovim | [are] good | H2896 → | 538 times |
| הַשְּׁנַ֖יִם | hashenayim | <the> two [people] | H8147 → | 768 times |
| מִן־ | min- | more than | H4480 → | 1188 times |
| הָאֶחָ֑ד | haechad | <the> one | H259 → | 971 times |
| אֲשֶׁ֧ר | ʾasher | that | H834 → | 5497 times |
| יֵשׁ־ | yesh- | there | H3426 → | 140 times |
| לָהֶ֛ם | lahem | for <the> them | ||
| שָׂכָ֥ר | sakhar | [is] a reward | H7939 → | |
| ט֖וֹב | tov | good | H2896 → | 538 times |
| בַּעֲמָלָֽם׃ | baamalam | for toil their | H5999 → | 55 times |
טוֹבִ֥ים[are] good
tovimH2896 →538 times
הַשְּׁנַ֖יִם<the> two [people]
hashenayimH8147 →768 times
מִן־more than
min-H4480 →1188 times
הָאֶחָ֑ד<the> one
haechadH259 →971 times
אֲשֶׁ֧רthat
ʾasherH834 →5497 times
יֵשׁ־there
yesh-H3426 →140 times
לָהֶ֛םfor <the> them
lahem
שָׂכָ֥ר[is] a reward
sakharH7939 →
ט֖וֹבgood
tovH2896 →538 times
בַּעֲמָלָֽם׃for toil their
baamalamH5999 →55 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Proverbs 27:17As iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another.
it leads to
- Hebrews 10:24
And let us consider how to spur one another on to love and good deeds.
- Proverbs 27:9
Oil and incense bring joy to the heart, and the sweetness of a friend is counsel to the soul.
- Job 4:3–4
Surely you have instructed many, and have strengthened their feeble hands.
- 1 Samuel 23:16
And Saul’s son Jonathan came to David in Horesh and strengthened his hand in God,
- Isaiah 35:3–4
Strengthen the limp hands and steady the feeble knees!
- Hebrews 10:24
Through
Genesis 2:18The LORD God also said, “It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make for him a suitable helper.”
it leads to
- Ecclesiastes 4:9–12
Two are better than one, because they have a good return for their labor.
- Proverbs 18:22
He who finds a wife finds a good thing and obtains favor from the LORD.
- 1 Corinthians 11:7–12
A man ought not to cover his head, since he is the image and glory of God; but the woman is the glory of man.
- Ecclesiastes 4:9–12
Where this verse is studied
On this page
About Ecclesiastes
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Bonaventure, Commentary on Ecclesiastes, Chapter 4; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; Jerome, Commentary on Ecclesiastes; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.