← Back to Ecclesiastes

ವ್ಯಾಖ್ಯಾನ ಪ್ರಸ್ತುತ ಇಂಗ್ಲಿಷ್‌ನಲ್ಲಿ ಮಾತ್ರ ಲಭ್ಯವಿದೆ. ಕನ್ನಡ ಅನುವಾದ ಪ್ರಗತಿಯಲ್ಲಿದೆ.

Wisdom · Ecclesiastes

Ecclesiastes 4 — Two Are Better Than One

Summary

I considered all the oppressions that are done under the sun. So I praised the dead which are already dead more than the living. Two are better than one; because they have a good reward for their labour. For if they fall, the one will lift up his fellow. A threefold cord is not quickly broken. Better is a poor and a wise child than an old and foolish king. The eye is not satisfied with riches.

Key verse

“Two are better than one; because they have a good reward for their labour. For if they fall, the one will lift up his fellow: but woe to him that is alone when he falleth; for he hath not another to help him up.”

— Ecclesiastes 4:9-10

Outline
  1. v.1-3 Oppression seen
  2. v.4-12 Two are better than one
  3. v.13-16 The fleeting glory of kings
Verse-by-verse
9 Two are better than one; because they have a good reward for their labour.

Companionship is not optional luxury; it is functional necessity. The labor is rewarded better when shared.

The verse blesses friendship, marriage, partnership, mentoring. Where you are alone, you are exposed; where you are joined, you flourish.

Cross-references Genesis 2:18 · Proverbs 27:17 · Hebrews 10:24-25 · Galatians 6:2
12 And if one prevail against him, two shall withstand him; and a threefold cord is not quickly broken.

A threefold cord. Two together are stronger than one; three together are sturdier still. The picture suggests God woven into the friendship.

A counsel for Christian community. Bring God into the partnership; the cord becomes threefold.

Key doctrines
Companionship's Greater Reward
Ecclesiastes 4:9 · Proverbs 27:17 · Hebrews 10:24-25
The Threefold Cord of God-Centered Friendship
Ecclesiastes 4:12 · Matthew 18:20 · Colossians 3:14
Application

Verse 9 examines your solitude. Where you have isolated yourself, the chapter calls you back into company. Find one or two with whom to share labor and lifting. The two-cord is good; the threefold is stronger.

Christ in this chapter

Christ Himself sent the seventy out two and two (Luke 10:1). The chapter's wisdom is embedded in His method.