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Ecclesiastes 4:7

Old Testament Wisdom/Poetry ASV (1901)

What does Ecclesiastes 4:7 say?

The American Standard Version records this verse as: “Then I returned and saw vanity under the sun.” Read the surrounding verses and the named sources below before drawing broader conclusions.

The verse

Then I returned and saw vanity under the sun.
Ecclesiastes 4:7 — American Standard Version

Context — Ecclesiastes 4

American Standard Version (1901) — public domain. Click any verse for its study page.
4Then I saw all labor and every skilful work, that for this a man is envied of his neighbor. This also is vanity and a striving after wind.
5The fool foldeth his hands together, and eateth his own flesh.
6Better is a handful, with quietness, than two handfuls with labor and striving after wind.
7Then I returned and saw vanity under the sun.
8There is one that is alone, and he hath not a second; yea, he hath neither son nor brother; yet is there no end of all his labor, neither are his eyes satisfied with riches. For whom then, [saith he], do I labor, and deprive my soul of good? This also is vanity, yea, it is a sore travail.
9Two are better than one, because they have a good reward for their labor.
10For if they fall, the one will lift up his fellow; but woe to him that is alone when he falleth, and hath not another to lift him up.
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What do historical commentaries say?

John Gill's Exposition
John Gill (1697–1771) · Exposition of the Old and New Testament · 18th-century historical commentary
“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.””
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Jamieson, Fausset & Brown
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown · Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible · 19th-century historical commentary
“A vanity described in Ecc 4:8.”
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Barnes' Notes
Albert Barnes (1798–1870) · Notes on the Whole Bible · 19th-century historical commentary
“The spectacle of a prosperous man whose condition is rendered vain by his brotherless, childless isolation. Ecclesiastes 4:8 A second - Any one associated or connected with him. Ecclesiastes 4:9-12 Compare a saying from the Talmud: “A man without companions is like the left hand without the right.” return to 'Top of Page'”
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Tyndale Open Study Notes
Tyndale House Publishers · Tyndale Open Study Notes · Modern study notes
“4:7-8 This solitary man is a case study of the principle expressed in 4:6.”
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Treasury of Scriptural Knowledge
R. A. Torrey and contributors · The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge · Cross-reference reference work
“Ecc 4:1; Psa 78:33; Zac 1:6 Ecclesiastes 4:8”
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Keil & Delitzsch
C. F. Keil & F. Delitzsch · Commentary on the Old Testament · 19th-century historical commentary
“"There is one without a second, also son and brother he has not; and there is no end of his labour; his eyes nevertheless are not satisfied with riches: For whom do I labour, then, and deny all good to my soul? Also this is vain, and it is a sore trouble." That ואין, as in Psa 104:25; Psa 105:34, has the meaning of בּאין, absque, Nolde has already observed in his Partik.-Concordanz: a solitarius, without one standing by his side, a second standing near him, i.e., without wife and without friend; also, as the words following show, without son and brother. Regarding ואח, for which, with the connect. accus., ואח might be expected (cf. also Ecc 2:7, וצאן with Mahpach; and, on the other hand, Ecc…”
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Related study paths

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Sources and verification