Ecclesiastes 4:9–12
"A threefold cord is not quickly broken"
Two are better than one: they lift each other up, keep each other warm and stand together; and "a threefold cord is not quickly broken." All witnesses agree. A very similar proverb appears in the Sumerian poem Bilgamesh and Huwawa, centuries older.
Stable text: no manuscript differences in meaning
The family tree
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✓ contains this verse · ▢ pages lost · – no copy survives
- Same line, through lost copies
- Translation
Every witness, in order
Often dated 4th–3rd century BC (debated)
The book as first written
No original survives. The oldest Hebrew copies of Ecclesiastes are two Qumran fragments, 4Q109 (4QQoh-a, mid-2nd century BC, reported) and 4Q110 (4QQoh-b, reported).
Jerome c. AD 398, from Hebrew; edition 1592
Latin Vulgate (Clementine)
How the site knows this: Read in the site's library text: Clementine Vulgate (1592 edition).
Melius est ergo duos esse simul quam unum; habent enim emolumentum societatis suæ. Si unus ceciderit, ab altero fulcietur. Væ soli, quia cum ceciderit, non habet sublevantem se. Et si dormierint duo, fovebuntur mutuo; unus quomodo calefiet? Et si quispiam prævaluerit contra unum, duo resistunt ei; funiculus triplex difficile rumpitur.
Latin numbering: Ecclesiastes 4:9–12. Jerome translated Ecclesiastes from Hebrew (c. AD 398), after writing a commentary on it (c. 388); the Vulgate is an indirect witness to a Hebrew text, with Jerome's interpretation.
AD 1008
Masoretic Text (Leningrad Codex)
How the site knows this: Read in the site's library text: Westminster Leningrad Codex, a digital transcription of the Leningrad Codex.
טוֹבִ֥ים הַשְּׁנַ֖יִם מִן־הָאֶחָ֑ד אֲשֶׁ֧ר יֵשׁ־לָהֶ֛ם שָׂכָ֥ר ט֖וֹב בַּעֲמָלָֽם׃ כִּ֣י אִם־יִפֹּ֔לוּ הָאֶחָ֖ד יָקִ֣ים אֶת־חֲבֵר֑וֹ וְאִ֣יל֗וֹ הָֽאֶחָד֙ שֶׁיִּפּ֔וֹל וְאֵ֥ין שֵׁנִ֖י לַהֲקִימֽוֹ׃ גַּ֛ם אִם־יִשְׁכְּב֥וּ שְׁנַ֖יִם וְחַ֣ם לָהֶ֑ם וּלְאֶחָ֖ד אֵ֥יךְ יֵחָֽם׃ וְאִֽם־יִתְקְפוֹ֙ הָאֶחָ֔ד הַשְּׁנַ֖יִם יַעַמְד֣וּ נֶגְדּ֑וֹ וְהַחוּט֙ הַֽמְשֻׁלָּ֔שׁ לֹ֥א בִמְהֵרָ֖ה יִנָּתֵֽק׃
And if one overpowers him who is alone, two will stand against him; and the threefold cord will not quickly be snapped
Hebrew numbering: Ecclesiastes 4:9–12.
1611
King James Bible
How the site knows this: Read in the site's library text: King James Version (1769 text).
Two are better than one; because they have a good reward for their labour. 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. Again, if two lie together, then they have heat: but how can one be warm alone? And if one prevail against him, two shall withstand him; and a threefold cord is not quickly broken.
Greek translation c. 1st–2nd century AD (debated); French 1872
Greek Ecclesiastes (library: Giguet's French)
How the site knows this: Known here only through a translation.
Deux valent mieux qu’un, et ils reçoivent de leur commun labeur un salaire abondant; Car, s’ils tombent, l’un relève son compagnon; malheur à l’homme seul, s’il tombe, il n’a personne pour le relever! Et si deux dorment ensemble, la chaleur est avec eux; et comment un seul se réchauffera-t-il? Et si un seul prévaut, les deux lui résisteront; et une triple corde ne sera pas promptement brisée.
Greek (digital file) numbering: Ecclesiastes 4:9–12. Giguet's 1872 French of a printed Greek text (D check). A C check needs the Göttingen edition of Greek Ecclesiastes (P. J. Gentry, 2019).
What changed, and why
The Sumerian Bilgamesh and Huwawa (version A, early 2nd millennium BC) has Gilgamesh encourage his companion with sayings to the effect that two together will not perish, a towed boat will not sink, and a three-ply rope cannot be cut. The parallel shows a proverb of great age and wide circulation; it does not show that Ecclesiastes depends on the Sumerian poem.
The original application is companionship and shared labor (v. 9, "a good reward for their labour"). Later Christian preaching often applies the threefold cord to marriage, with God as the third strand; that is reception, not the verse's original scope.
What the evidence shows
- A three-ply-rope proverb occurs in the Sumerian Bilgamesh and Huwawa. Cited in commentaries; exact line is a C check (EC-C08).
- Ecclesiastes 4:12 borrows from the Sumerian poem. A shared proverb.
- The cord originally meant marriage with God. A later application.
Sources
Related lessons
- Ecclesiastes 4: Two Are Better Than One →Qoheleth sees the tears of the oppressed, power on the side of the oppressors, and "they had no comforter" (4:1); the dead seem better off, and the unborn best of all (vv. 2–3). He sees that much skilled work springs from envy (v. 4); the fool folds his hands and starves (v. 5), but "better is an handful with quietness, than both the hands full with travail" (v. 6). A man alone with no son or brother toils without end and never asks for whom (vv. 7–8). "Two are better than one": they help, warm and defend each other, "and a threefold cord is not quickly broken" (vv. 9–12). Finally, a poor wise youth is better than an old foolish king, yet the crowds who follow the young king will forget him too (vv. 13–16).
- Investigation: The Gilgamesh Connection →Two passages of Ecclesiastes have strikingly close parallels in the Gilgamesh tradition: Siduri's advice to enjoy food, festivity, clean clothes and family in the face of death (Old Babylonian version) beside Ecclesiastes 9:7–9, and the saying about a three-ply rope (Sumerian Bilgamesh and Huwawa) beside 4:12. This investigation identifies which versions contain them, how old they are, and what can and cannot be concluded.