Ecclesiastes 4:9–14

9 Two are better than one,

because they have a good return for their labor:

10 If either of them falls down,

one can help the other up.

But pity anyone who falls

and has no one to help them up.

11 Also, if two lie down together, they will keep warm.

But how can one keep warm alone?

12 Though one may be overpowered,

two can defend themselves.

A cord of three strands is not quickly broken.

13 Better a poor but wise youth than an old but foolish king who no longer knows how to heed a warning. 14 The youth may have come from prison to the kingship, or he may have been born in poverty within his kingdom.

9 Two are better than one; because they have a good reward for their labour. 10 For 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 Again, if two lie together, then they have heat: but how can one be warm alone? 12 And if one prevail against him, two shall withstand him; and a threefold cord is not quickly broken.

13 Better is a poor and a wise child than an old and foolish king, who will no more be admonished. 14 For out of prison he cometh to reign; whereas also he that is born in his kingdom becometh poor.

9 Two people are better off than one, for they can help each other succeed. 10 If one person falls, the other can reach out and help. But someone who falls alone is in real trouble. 11 Likewise, two people lying close together can keep each other warm. But how can one be warm alone? 12 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.

13 It is better to be a poor but wise youth than an old and foolish king who refuses all advice. 14 Such a youth could rise from poverty and succeed. He might even become king, though he has been in prison.

9 Two are better than one,

Because they have a good reward for their labor.

10 For if they fall, one will lift up his companion.

But woe to him who is alone when he falls,

For he has no one to help him up.

11 Again, if two lie down together, they will keep warm;

But how can one be warm alone?

12 Though one may be overpowered by another, two can withstand him.

And a threefold cord is not quickly broken.

13 Better a poor and wise youth

Than an old and foolish king who will be admonished no more.

14 For he comes out of prison to be king,

Although he was born poor in his kingdom.

9 Two people are better than one,

because they get more done by working together.

10 If one falls down,

the other can help him up.

But it is bad for the person who is alone and falls,

because no one is there to help.

11 If two lie down together, they will be warm,

but a person alone will not be warm.

12 An enemy might defeat one person,

but two people together can defend themselves;

a rope that is woven of three strings is hard to break.

13 A poor but wise boy is better than a foolish but old king who doesn’t listen to advice. 14 A boy became king. He had been born poor in the kingdom and had even gone to prison before becoming king.

9 Two are better than one, because they have a good reward for their labor. 10 For if they fall, the one will lift up his fellow; but woe to him that is alone when he falleth, and hath not another to lift him up. 11 Again, if two lie together, then they have warmth; but how can one be warm alone? 12 And if a man prevail against him that is alone, two shall withstand him; and a threefold cord is not quickly broken.

13 Better is a poor and wise youth than an old and foolish king, who knoweth not how to receive admonition any more. 14 For out of prison he came forth to be king; yea, even in his kingdom he was born poor.

9 Two are better than one; because they have a good reward for their labour. 10 For if they fall, the one will lift up his fellow; but woe to him that is alone when he falleth, and who hath not another to lift him up! 11 Again, if two lie together, then they have warmth; but how can one alone be warm? 12 And if a man overpower the one, the two shall withstand him; and a threefold cord is not quickly broken.

13 Better is a poor but wise youth than an old and foolish king, who knoweth no more how to be admonished. 14 For out of the prison-house he came forth to reign, although he was born poor in his kingdom.

9 Two people are better than one because ⸤together⸥ they have a good reward for their hard work. 10 If one falls, the other can help his friend get up. But how tragic it is for the one who is ⸤all⸥ alone when he falls. There is no one to help him get up. 11 Again, if two people lie down together, they can keep warm, but how can one person keep warm? 12 Though one person may be overpowered by another, two people can resist one opponent. A triple-braided rope is not easily broken. 

13 A young man who is poor and wise is better than an old, foolish king who won’t take advice any longer. 

14 A young man came out of prison to rule as king, even though he had been born in poverty in that same kingdom.

9 Two are better than one because they have a good reward for their efforts. 10 For if either falls, his companion can lift him up; but pity the one who falls without another to lift him up. 11 Also, if two lie down together, they can keep warm; but how can one person alone keep warm? 12 And if someone overpowers one person, two can resist him. A cord of three strands is not easily broken.

13 Better is a poor but wise youth than an old but foolish king who no longer pays attention to warnings. 14 For he came from prison to be king, even though he was born poor in his kingdom.

9 Two are better than one because they have a good reward for their toil. 10 For if they fall, one will lift up the other, but woe to one who is alone and falls and does not have another to help. 11 Again, if two lie together, they keep warm, but how can one keep warm alone? 12 And though one might prevail against another, two will withstand one. A threefold cord is not quickly broken.

13 Better is a poor but wise youth than an old but foolish king who will no longer take advice. 14 One can indeed come out of prison to reign, even though born poor in the kingdom.

9 Two are better than the one, for they enjoy a better reward for their toil. 10 For if they fall, one will help up his companion. But pity the one who falls and there is no one to help him up. 11 Also if two lie together, they can keep each other warm. But how can one person be warm? 12 Although an assailant may overpower one person, two may withstand him. A threefold cord is not easily broken!

13 A poor but wise youth is better than an old but foolish king who no longer knows how to receive advice. 14 For he came out of the prison house to reign, since he was born poor in his kingdom.

9 Two people are better than one.

They can help each other in everything they do.

10 Suppose someone falls down.

Then his friend can help him up.

But suppose the man who falls down doesn’t have anyone to help him up.

Then feel sorry for him!

11 Or suppose two people lie down together.

Then they’ll keep warm.

But how can one person keep warm alone?

12 One person could be overpowered.

But two people can stand up for themselves.

And a rope made out of three cords isn’t easily broken.

13 A poor but wise young man is better off than an old but foolish king. That king doesn’t pay attention to a warning anymore. 14 The young man might have come from prison to become king. Or he might have been born poor within the kingdom but still became king.

9 Two are better than one because they have a good return for their labor.

10 For if either of them falls, the one will lift up his companion. But woe to the one who falls when there is not another to lift him up.

11 Furthermore, if two lie down together they keep warm, but how can one be warm alone?

12 And if one can overpower him who is alone, two can resist him. A cord of three strands is not quickly torn apart.

13 A poor yet wise lad is better than an old and foolish king who no longer knows how to receive instruction.

14 For he has come out of prison to become king, even though he was born poor in his kingdom.