Ecclesiastes 4:8

Good News Translation

Here is someone who lives alone. He has no son, no brother, yet he is always working, never satisfied with the wealth he has. For whom is he working so hard and denying himself any pleasure? This is useless, too—and a miserable way to live.

Cross References

Genesis 2:18

Then the Lord God said, “It is not good for the man to live alone. I will make a suitable companion to help him.”

Psalm 39:6

no more than a shadow. All we do is for nothing; we gather wealth, but don't know who will get it.

Psalm 39:7

What, then, can I hope for, Lord? I put my hope in you.

Proverbs 27:20

Human desires are like the world of the dead—there is always room for more.

Ecclesiastes 1:13

I determined that I would examine and study all the things that are done in this world. God has laid a miserable fate upon us.

Ecclesiastes 1:8

Everything leads to weariness—a weariness too great for words. Our eyes can never see enough to be satisfied; our ears can never hear enough.

Ecclesiastes 2:21

You work for something with all your wisdom, knowledge, and skill, and then you have to leave it all to someone who hasn't had to work for it. It is useless, and it isn't right!

Ecclesiastes 2:23

As long as you live, everything you do brings nothing but worry and heartache. Even at night your mind can't rest. It is all useless.

Ecclesiastes 4:7

I have noticed something else in life that is useless.

Ecclesiastes 5:10

If you love money, you will never be satisfied; if you long to be rich, you will never get all you want. It is useless.

Ecclesiastes 5:9

Even a king depends on the harvest.

Isaiah 5:8

You are doomed! You buy more houses and fields to add to those you already have. Soon there will be no place for anyone else to live, and you alone will live in the land.

Isaiah 55:2

Why spend money on what does not satisfy? Why spend your wages and still be hungry? Listen to me and do what I say, and you will enjoy the best food of all.

Matthew 11:28

“Come to me, all of you who are tired from carrying heavy loads, and I will give you rest.

Luke 12:20

But God said to him, ‘You fool! This very night you will have to give up your life; then who will get all these things you have kept for yourself?’”

1 John 2:16

Everything that belongs to the world—what the sinful self desires, what people see and want, and everything in this world that people are so proud of—none of this comes from the Father; it all comes from the world.