Ecclesiastes 4:5
The fool foldeth his hands together, and eateth his own flesh.
Darby Translation
In The King James Version
The fool foldeth his hands together, and eateth his own flesh.
In Context
6Better is a handful with quietness, than both hands full with labour and pursuit of the wind.
Cross References
Proverbs 6:9How long, sluggard, wilt thou lie down? When wilt thou arise out of thy sleep?
Proverbs 6:11So shall thy poverty come as a roving plunderer, and thy penury as an armed man.
Proverbs 12:27The slothful roasteth not what he took in hunting; but man's precious substance is to the diligent.
Proverbs 20:4The sluggard will not plough by reason of the winter; he shall beg in harvest, and have nothing.
Isaiah 9:20and he snatcheth on the right hand, and is hungry, and eateth on the left hand; and they are not satisfied. They eat every man the flesh of his own arm:
Matthew Henry on Ecclesiastes 4:5-7
The Prevalence of Oppression. 4 Again, I considered all travail, and every right work, that for this a man is envied of his neighbour. This is also vanity and vexation of spirit. 5 The fool foldeth his hands together, and eateth his own flesh. 6 Better is a handful with quietness, than both the hands full with travail and vexation of spirit. Here Solomon returns to the observation and consideration of the vanity and vexation of spirit that attend the business of this world, which he had spoken of before, ch. ii.… Read the whole commentary →