Ecclesiastes 4: two are better than one

Two who stand together are stronger than one alone, and a threefold cord is not quickly broken.

Bible reference: Ecclesiastes 4:9-12

For weddings

At a glance

Text: King James Version, at the bottom of this page
Length, read slowly: Under a minute
Where it goes: Scripture reading · Christian wedding ceremony and Wedding ceremonyRead by: reader
Second reading · Christian wedding ceremonyRead by: reader

Have the officiant read your choice first: they have the last word.

We don’t show modern translations here: they are protected by copyright. You can find them in your church’s Bible or on the publisher’s website. Further down this page is the text from the King James Version, which you may use freely.

Use in your program

What this reading says

Ecclesiastes is the most down-to-earth book in the Bible, written by a teacher who is not easily impressed. Here he makes a practical case for partnership. Two people get more done than one. If one falls, the other helps them up, and pity the person who falls alone. Two who lie down together stay warm. One person can be overpowered, but two can hold their ground. Then the line everyone waits for: a cord of three strands is not quickly broken. Christians often read the third strand as God; others hear the people around the couple.

When it fits

This reading suits a couple who distrust grand words and want something true about everyday life. It works at a non-religious ceremony, since God is not mentioned, and in church, where the three strands carry a second meaning. It is popular in evangelical and nondenominational weddings and less common in a Catholic Mass, where it is not on the list. Compared with Genesis 2, which is about why people pair up, this one is about what the pairing is good for. If you want the same realism with more tenderness, Colossians 3 is the next step among the wedding readings.

Reading it aloud

A grandparent reads this well, since the passage sounds like advice from someone who has done the falling and the getting up. Keep it matter-of-fact. The humor in "how can one be warm alone?" should get a quiet laugh if you let the question hang. The King James Version uses "labour" with the British spelling and "woe to him that is alone". The one line to watch is "if one prevail against him", where a modern translation's "if someone overpowers one" is clearer. Paste the text you choose into the wedding program with its credit line.

Text from the King James Version

Ecclesiastes 4:9-12

This older translation is in the public domain in the United States, so you may print it in your program for free. A Catholic Mass reads from the lectionary, so for a Mass, paste the text your parish uses.

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.

Goes well with

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