For if they fall, one will lift up his fellow. But woe to him who is alone when he falls and has not another to lift him up! | And if one should fall, his companion will help him up. How pathetic is the man who is alone and falls and has no one to assist him to his feet. |
And though a man might prevail against one who is alone, two will withstand him—a threefold cord is not quickly broken. | And where a single man can be overcome, two together will be able to resist. A cord with three strands is not easily broken. |
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For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven. | For everything there is a season, and a time for every activity under heaven. |
He who loves money will not be satisfied with money, nor he who loves wealth with his income; this also is vanity. | One who is covetous will never be satisfied with money, nor will the lover of wealth be content with gain. This too is vanity. |
Say not, “Why were the former days better than these?” For it is not from wisdom that you ask this. | Do not assert that the past was better than the present, for such a statement is not a sign of wisdom. |
Two are better than one, because they have a good reward for their toil. | Two are better than one: they earn a far greater reward for their toil. |
As you do not know the way the spirit comes to the bones in the womb of a woman with child, so you do not know the work of God who makes everything. | Just as you do not know the path of the wind or how the body is formed in a woman’s womb, so you do not know the work of God, the Creator of all. |
Remove vexation from your heart, and put away pain from your body, for youth and the dawn of life are vanity. | Banish grief from your heart and ignore the sufferings of your body, for youth and the prime of life are fleeting. |
In the day of prosperity be joyful, and in the day of adversity consider: God has made the one as well as the other, so that man may not find out anything that will be after him. | When things are going well, be grateful for your blessings, and in times of adversity consider this: God has made both of them, so that we cannot predict with confidence what the future holds. |
The words of a wise man's mouth win him favor, but the lips of a fool consume him. | The words of a wise man win favor, but a fool’s tongue is his undoing. |