And though one may be overpowered, two can resist. Moreover, a cord of three strands is not quickly broken.
Parallel translations
- WEB If a man prevails against one who is alone, two shall withstand him; and a threefold cord is not quickly broken.
- KJV And if one prevail against him, two shall withstand him; and a threefold cord is not quickly broken.
- NKJV Though one may be overpowered by another, two can withstand him. And a threefold cord is not quickly broken.
- NASB And if one can overpower him who is alone, two can resist him. A cord of three strands is not quickly torn apart.
- NLT A person standing alone can be attacked and defeated, but two can stand back-to-back and conquer. Three are even better, for a triple-braided cord is not easily broken.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
One person can be overpowered, but two can resist, and a three-stranded cord is hard to break. It matters because unity provides strength and security that isolation cannot.
Overview
The Preacher caps his praise of companionship with the proverb of the threefold cord, an enduring image of strength through union. The progression from two to three suggests that added bonds bring greater resilience. Many Christians have seen in the 'threefold cord' a picture of relationships strengthened when God is the third strand, though the text itself simply commends the durability of united effort.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 6
- Dan 3:16–17Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego replied to the king, “O Nebuchadnezzar, we have no need to answer you in this matter.
- Eph 4:3and with diligence to preserve the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace.
- 2 Sam 23:9Next in command was Eleazar son of Dodo the Ahohite. As one of the three mighty men, he went with David to taunt the Philistines who had gathered for battle at Pas-dammim. The men of Israel retreated,
- 2 Sam 23:23He was most honored among the Thirty, but he did not become one of the Three. And David appointed him over his guard.
- 2 Sam 23:18–19Now Abishai, the brother of Joab and son of Zeruiah, was chief of the Three, and he lifted his spear against three hundred men, killed them, and won a name along with the Three.
- 2 Sam 23:16So the three mighty men broke through the Philistine camp, drew water from the well near the gate of Bethlehem, and brought it back to David. But he refused to drink it; instead, he poured it out to the LORD,
Themes, concepts, people & topics
Resources, by level
Commentaries & study tools
Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.
Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.
Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.
Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.
The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).
Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.
Christ at the center
The search that finds everything 'under the sun' to be vapor exposes the emptiness of life without God and drives us to the one who alone gives meaning, the resurrection that makes our labor not in vain.
How Ecclesiastes 4:12 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.