Ecclesiastes 4:5

NET Bible® (New English Translation)

The fool folds his hands and does no work, so he has nothing to eat but his own flesh.

Additional Resources

Referenced Verses

  • Isa 9:20 : 20 They devoured on the right, but were still hungry, they ate on the left, but were not satisfied. People even ate the flesh of their own arm!
  • Prov 6:10-11 : 10 A little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to relax, 11 and your poverty will come like a robber, and your need like an armed man.
  • Prov 11:17 : 17 A kind person benefits himself, but a cruel person brings himself trouble.
  • Prov 12:27 : 27 The lazy person does not roast his prey, but personal possessions are precious to the diligent.
  • Prov 13:4 : 4 The appetite of the sluggard craves but gets nothing, but the desire of the diligent will be abundantly satisfied.
  • Prov 20:4 : 4 The sluggard will not plow during the planting season, so at harvest time he asks for grain but has nothing.
  • Prov 24:33-34 : 33 “A little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to relax, 34 and your poverty will come like a bandit, and your need like an armed robber.”
  • Job 13:14 : 14 Why do I put myself in peril, and take my life in my hands?

Similar Verses (AI)

These verses are found using AI-powered semantic similarity based on meaning and context. Results may occasionally include unexpected connections.

  • Eccl 4:6
    77%

    6Better is one handful with some rest than two hands full of toil and chasing the wind.

  • Prov 19:24
    75%

    24The sluggard has plunged his hand into the dish, and he will not even bring it back to his mouth!

  • Prov 26:15
    75%

    15The sluggard has plunged his hand in the dish; he is too lazy to bring it back to his mouth.

  • Prov 18:2
    75%

    2A fool takes no pleasure in understanding but only in disclosing what is on his mind.

  • Eccl 4:4
    73%

    4Labor Motivated by Envy Then I considered all the skillful work that is done: Surely it is nothing more than competition between one person and another. This also is profitless– like chasing the wind.

  • Prov 30:22
    73%

    22under a servant who becomes king, under a fool who becomes stuffed with food,

  • Eccl 10:2-3
    2 verses
    73%

    2Wisdom Can Be Nullified By the Caprice of Rulers A wise person’s good sense protects him, but a fool’s lack of sense leaves him vulnerable.

    3Even when a fool walks along the road he lacks sense, and shows everyone what a fool he is.

  • Prov 19:3
    72%

    3A person’s folly subverts his way, and his heart rages against the LORD.

  • Prov 26:4-6
    3 verses
    72%

    4Do not answer a fool according to his folly, lest you yourself also be like him.

    5Answer a fool according to his folly, lest he be wise in his own opinion.

    6Like cutting off the feet or drinking violence, so is sending a message by the hand of a fool.

  • Prov 15:14
    72%

    14The discerning mind seeks knowledge, but the mouth of fools feeds on folly.

  • Eccl 10:12-15
    4 verses
    72%

    12Words and Works of Wise Men and Fools The words of a wise person win him favor, but the words of a fool are self-destructive.

    13At the beginning his words are foolish and at the end his talk is wicked madness,

    14yet a fool keeps on babbling. No one knows what will happen; who can tell him what will happen in the future?

    15The toil of a stupid fool wears him out, because he does not even know the way to the city.

  • Prov 21:25
    72%

    25What the sluggard desires will kill him, for his hands have refused to work.

  • Eccl 6:7-8
    2 verses
    72%

    7All of man’s labor is for nothing more than to fill his stomach– yet his appetite is never satisfied!

    8So what advantage does a wise man have over a fool? And what advantage does a pauper gain by knowing how to survive?

  • Isa 9:20
    71%

    20They devoured on the right, but were still hungry, they ate on the left, but were not satisfied. People even ate the flesh of their own arm!

  • Prov 13:16
    71%

    16Every shrewd person acts with knowledge, but a fool displays his folly.

  • Prov 5:11
    71%

    11And at the end of your life you will groan when your flesh and your body are wasted away.

  • Prov 18:6-7
    2 verses
    71%

    6The lips of a fool enter into strife, and his mouth invites a flogging.

    7The mouth of a fool is his ruin, and his lips are a snare for his life.

  • Eccl 7:6
    71%

    6For like the crackling of quick-burning thorns under a cooking pot, so is the laughter of the fool. This kind of folly also is useless.

  • Prov 12:15
    71%

    15The way of a fool is right in his own opinion, but the one who listens to advice is wise.

  • Prov 17:16
    71%

    16What’s the point of a fool having money in hand to buy wisdom, when his head is empty?

  • Prov 29:11
    71%

    11A fool lets fly with all his temper, but a wise person keeps it back.

  • Prov 11:29
    71%

    29The one who troubles his family will inherit nothing, and the fool will be a servant to the wise person.

  • Prov 10:4
    71%

    4The one who is lazy becomes poor, but the one who works diligently becomes wealthy.

  • Prov 19:15
    70%

    15Laziness brings on a deep sleep, and the idle person will go hungry.

  • Eccl 2:25
    70%

    25For no one can eat and drink or experience joy apart from him.

  • Prov 12:23
    70%

    23The shrewd person conceals knowledge, but foolish people proclaim folly.

  • Prov 26:9-11
    3 verses
    70%

    9Like a thorn has gone up into the hand of a drunkard, so a proverb has gone up into the mouth of a fool.

    10Like an archer who wounds at random, so is the one who hires a fool or hires any passerby.

    11Like a dog that returns to its vomit, so a fool repeats his folly.

  • Prov 10:23
    70%

    23Carrying out a wicked scheme is enjoyable to a fool, and so is wisdom for the one who has discernment.

  • Ps 107:17
    70%

    17They acted like fools in their rebellious ways, and suffered because of their sins.

  • Prov 30:32
    70%

    32If you have done foolishly by exalting yourself or if you have planned evil, put your hand over your mouth!

  • Prov 17:21
    70%

    21Whoever brings a fool into the world does so to his grief, and the father of a fool has no joy.

  • Isa 44:20
    70%

    20He feeds on ashes; his deceived mind misleads him. He cannot rescue himself, nor does he say,‘Is this not a false god I hold in my right hand?’

  • Job 5:2
    70%

    2For wrath kills the foolish person, and anger slays the silly one.

  • Prov 16:26
    70%

    26A laborer’s appetite has labored for him, for his hunger has pressed him to work.

  • Eccl 2:15
    70%

    15So I thought to myself,“The fate of the fool will happen even to me! Then what did I gain by becoming so excessively wise?” So I lamented to myself,“The benefits of wisdom are ultimately meaningless!”

  • Prov 24:33
    69%

    33“A little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to relax,

  • Prov 15:5
    69%

    5A fool rejects his father’s discipline, but whoever heeds reproof shows good sense.

  • Eccl 5:17
    69%

    17Surely, he ate in darkness every day of his life, and he suffered greatly with sickness and anger.

  • Prov 14:16
    69%

    16A wise person is cautious and turns from evil, but a fool throws off restraint and is overconfident.

  • Prov 14:8
    69%

    8The wisdom of the shrewd person is to discern his way, but the folly of fools is deception.