Ecclesiastes 4:7

Christian Standard Bible ®

Again, I saw futility under the sun:

Parallel Translations

Hebrew Names Version
Then I returned and saw vanity under the sun.

King James Version
Then I returned, and I saw vanity under the sun.

English Standard Version
Again, I saw vanity under the sun:

New American Standard Bible
Then I looked again at futility under the sun.

New Century Version
Again I saw something here on earth that was useless:

Amplified Bible
Then I looked again at vanity under the sun [in one of its peculiar forms].

World English Bible
Then I returned and saw vanity under the sun.

Geneva Bible (1587)
Againe I returned, and sawe vanitie vnder the sunne.

Legacy Standard Bible
Then I looked again at vanity under the sun.

Berean Standard Bible
Again, I saw futility under the sun.

Contemporary English Version
Once again I saw that nothing on earth makes sense.

Complete Jewish Bible
Then I turned my attention to something else under the sun that is pointless:

Darby Translation
And I returned and saw vanity under the sun.

Easy-to-Read Version
Again I saw something else that didn't make sense:

George Lamsa Translation
Then I turned, and I saw vanity under the sun.

Good News Translation
I have noticed something else in life that is useless.

Lexham English Bible
I turned again and saw another vanity under the sun.

Literal Translation
Then I returned and saw vanity under the sun.

Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
Morouer, I turned me, and beholde yet another vanite vnder the Sonne.

American Standard Version
Then I returned and saw vanity under the sun.

Bible in Basic English
Then I came back, and I saw an example of what is to no purpose under the sun.

JPS Old Testament (1917)
Then I returned and saw vanity under the sun.

King James Version (1611)
Then I returned, and I saw vanitie vnder the Sunne.

Bishop's Bible (1568)
Moreouer I turned me, and beholde yet another vanitie vnder the sunne.

Brenton's Septuagint (LXX)
So I returned, and saw vanity under the sun.

English Revised Version
Then I returned and saw vanity under the sun.

Wycliffe Bible (1395)
I bihelde and foond also another vanytee vndir the sunne;

Update Bible Version
Then I returned and saw vanity under the sun.

Webster's Bible Translation
Then I returned, and I saw vanity under the sun.

New English Translation
So I again considered another futile thing on earth:

New King James Version
Then I returned, and I saw vanity under the sun:

New Living Translation
I observed yet another example of something meaningless under the sun.

New Life Bible
Then I looked again at what is of no use under the sun.

New Revised Standard
Again, I saw vanity under the sun:

J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
Then again, I, looked at a vain thing under the sun: -

Douay-Rheims Bible
Considering I found also another vanity under the sun:

Revised Standard Version
Again, I saw vanity under the sun:

Young's Literal Translation
And I have turned, and I see a vain thing under the sun:

THE MESSAGE
I turned my head and saw yet another wisp of smoke on its way to nothingness: 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.

New American Standard Bible (1995)
Then I looked again at vanity under the sun.

Contextual Overview

⁷Again, I saw futility under the sun: ⁸There is a person without a companion, without even a son or brother, and though there is no end to all his struggles, his eyes are still not content with riches. “Who am I struggling for,” he asks, “and depriving myself of good things?” This too is futile and a miserable task. ⁹Two are better than one because they have a good reward for their efforts. ¹⁰For if either falls, his companion can lift him up; but pity the one who falls without another to lift him up. ¹¹Also, if two lie down together, they can keep warm; but how can one person alone keep warm? ¹²And if someone overpowers one person, two can resist him. A cord of three strands is not easily broken.

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

Ecclesiastes 4:1, Psalms 78:33, Zechariah 1:6

Reciprocal: Psalms 39:6 - surely Ecclesiastes 1:3 - under Ecclesiastes 8:9 - this Ecclesiastes 10:5 - an evil

Cross-References

Genesis 3:16
He said to the woman:

Genesis 4:6
Then the Lord said to Cain, “Why are you furious? And why do you look despondent?

Genesis 4:8
Cain said to his brother Abel, “Let’s go out to the field.” And while they were in the field, Cain attacked his brother Abel and killed him.

Genesis 4:9
Then the Lord said to Cain, “Where is your brother Abel?”

Genesis 4:10
Then he said, “What have you done? Your brother’s blood cries out to me from the ground!

Genesis 4:11
So now you are cursed, alienated from the ground that opened its mouth to receive your brother’s blood you have shed.

Genesis 4:12
If you work the ground, it will never again give you its yield. You will be a restless wanderer on the earth.”

Genesis 4:13
But Cain answered the Lord, “My punishment is too great to bear!

Genesis 19:21
And he said to him, “All right, I’ll grant your request about this matter too and will not demolish the town you mentioned.

Numbers 32:23
But if you don’t do this, you will certainly sin against the Lord; be sure your sin will catch up with you.

Gill's Notes on the Bible

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.''

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

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.”