Two are better than one, because they have a good return for their labor.
Parallel translations
- WEB Two are better than one, because they have a good reward for their labor.
- KJV Two are better than one; because they have a good reward for their labour.
- NKJV Two are better than one, Because they have a good reward for their labor.
- NASB Two are better than one because they have a good return for their labor;
- NLT Two people are better off than one, for they can help each other succeed.
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
Two people working together gain more than one alone, because they share the fruit of their labor. It matters as the Preacher's antidote to the isolated toil just described.
Overview
After the bleak picture of the lonely man, the Preacher commends companionship and partnership. The 'good reward' is not merely material but the shared blessing of mutual help. This wisdom undergirds the biblical pattern of community, fulfilled in the church as the body of Christ, where believers bear one another's burdens (Galatians 6:2).
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 12
- Prov 27:17As iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another.
- Gen 2:18The LORD God also said, “It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make for him a suitable helper.”
- 1 Cor 12:18–21But in fact, God has arranged the members of the body, every one of them, according to His design.
- Mark 6:7Then Jesus called the Twelve to Him and began to send them out two by two, giving them authority over unclean spirits.
- Num 11:14I cannot carry all these people by myself; it is too burdensome for me.
- John 4:36Already the reaper draws his wages and gathers a crop for eternal life, so that the sower and the reaper may rejoice together.
- Ruth 2:12May the LORD repay your work, and may you receive a rich reward from the LORD, the God of Israel, under whose wings you have taken refuge.”
- Acts 13:2While they were worshiping the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, “Set apart for Me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.”
- Hag 1:14So the LORD stirred the spirit of Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, and the spirit of Joshua son of Jehozadak, the high priest, as well as the spirit of all the remnant of the people. And they came and began the work on the house of the LORD of Hosts, their God,
- Exod 4:14–16Then the anger of the LORD burned against Moses, and He said, “Is not Aaron the Levite your brother? I know that he can speak well, and he is now on his way to meet you. When he sees you, he will be glad in his heart.
- 2 Jn 1:8Watch yourselves, so that you do not lose what we have worked for, but that you may be fully rewarded.
- Acts 15:39–40Their disagreement was so sharp that they parted company. Barnabas took Mark and sailed for Cyprus,
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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 4:9 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.