Bible Strands
Ecclesiastes 4:6
Better one handful with tranquility than two handfuls with toil and pursuit of the wind.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — The speaker addresses a general audience while cataloging human labor, positioned directly after describing the inactive fool and immediately before introducing another vision of futility.
The words — מְלֹא (me·lo') translates to fullness, and נָחַת (na·chat) translates to quietness or tranquility.
The thread — This structural preference for modest peace over exhausting accumulation recurs in Proverbs 15:16, Proverbs 16:8, and Psalms 37:16.
Why it lands — The text requires readers to measure their current pursuits against the cost of exhaustion and to deliberately choose contentment over relentless accumulation.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Hebrew words
King James Version
Better is an handful with quietness, than both the hands full with travail and vexation of spirit.
Cross-references
- Proverbs 15:16 Better a little with the fear of the LORD than great treasure with turmoil.
- Proverbs 16:8 Better a little with righteousness than great gain with injustice.
- Psalms 37:16 Better is the little of the righteous than the abundance of many who are wicked.
- Proverbs 17:1 Better a dry morsel in quietness than a house full of feasting with strife.