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Ecclesiastes 4:9

“Two are better than one; because they have a good reward for their labour.”

Ecclesiastes 4:9, King James Version (KJV)

“Two are better than one, because they have a good reward for their labor.”

World English Bible (WEB)

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Ecclesiastes 4 (KJV)

  1. 1So I returned, and considered all the oppressions that are done under the sun: and behold the tears of such as were oppressed, and they had no comforter; and on the side of their oppressors there was power; but they had no comforter.
  2. 2Wherefore I praised the dead which are already dead more than the living which are yet alive.
  3. 3Yea, better is he than both they, which hath not yet been, who hath not seen the evil work that is done under the sun.
  4. 4Again, I considered all travail, and every right work, that for this a man is envied of his neighbour. This is also vanity and vexation of spirit.
  5. 5The fool foldeth his hands together, and eateth his own flesh.
  6. 6Better is an handful with quietness, than both the hands full with travail and vexation of spirit.
  7. 7Then I returned, and I saw vanity under the sun.
  8. 8There is one alone, and there is not a second; yea, he hath neither child nor brother: yet is there no end of all his labour; neither is his eye satisfied with riches; neither saith he, For whom do I labour, and bereave my soul of good? This is also vanity, yea, it is a sore travail.
  9. 9Two are better than one; because they have a good reward for their labour.
  10. 10For 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.
  11. 11Again, if two lie together, then they have heat: but how can one be warm alone?
  12. 12And if one prevail against him, two shall withstand him; and a threefold cord is not quickly broken.
  13. 13Better is a poor and a wise child than an old and foolish king, who will no more be admonished.
  14. 14For out of prison he cometh to reign; whereas also he that is born in his kingdom becometh poor.
  15. 15I considered all the living which walk under the sun, with the second child that shall stand up in his stead.
  16. 16There is no end of all the people, even of all that have been before them: they also that come after shall not rejoice in him. Surely this also is vanity and vexation of spirit.

Related verses

Passages that readers often connect with Ecclesiastes 4:9, in the King James Version.

  • Proverbs 27:17

    Iron sharpeneth iron; so a man sharpeneth the countenance of his friend.

  • Genesis 2:18

    And the LORD God said, It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him an help meet for him.

  • 1 Corinthians 12:18–21

    But now hath God set the members every one of them in the body, as it hath pleased him. …

  • Mark 6:7

    And he called unto him the twelve, and began to send them forth by two and two; and gave them power over unclean spirits;

  • Numbers 11:14

    I am not able to bear all this people alone, because it is too heavy for me.

  • John 4:36

    And he that reapeth receiveth wages, and gathereth fruit unto life eternal: that both he that soweth and he that reapeth may rejoice together.

More verses about friendship

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1769 standardized text (eBible.org eng-kjv). Public domain outside the United Kingdom. Text courtesy of the Crosswire Bible Society and eBible.org. World English Bible Protestant Edition (eBible engwebp, 2026-09-15 snapshot). Public domain. World English Bible is a trademark of eBible.org. Text unmodified; footnotes and formatting omitted. Related verses: OpenBible.info (CC BY 4.0), from the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge.