With this “better” saying Qoheleth concludes the third subdivision of this chapter. He again uses the numerals “one” and “two.” Two are better than one, says Qoheleth, meaning that if a person has even one friend, that person is better off than someone who has none. This contrasts sharply with the picture of the lonely person of verses 7-8.

Proverbial sayings usually do not have absolute meaning. That is to say, they are not true in every situation. We need to consider the circumstances before we can determine how appropriate certain pieces of advice are. Advice may suit one situation but not another. This feature of proverbial sayings means that there is no conflict between our verse here and the idea expressed in verse 6, that less may be better than more. Sometimes it is really better to have more, not less. What makes “more” better than “less” is the nature or value of the thing being compared. Here Qoheleth is thinking particularly of the benefit of having friends.

As noted earlier, the translator should try to express such sayings in a form that is recognizable as a proverb. Most languages will keep the third person reference, but in some languages it may be preferable to change to the second person. Likewise, expressing the verse as a conditional clause may be more natural: “If you are two instead of one, it is better. In your work, each one can help the other.”

Two are better than one: this statement of principle should perhaps be kept in a very general form, although some language communities may need to identify who the numerals refer to. If so, translators can make that meaning clear by adding the word “people” after the numeral “two”: “Two people are better than one.” We can also substitute other expressions, though this will mean losing the numerical references: “Being with another person is better than being alone.”

It may also be necessary to indicate the manner in which two are better than one. To do this may mean that we restructure the saying. Good News Translation “two are better off than one” does not solve that problem. Some alternatives for consideration are “Working with another person is better than working alone” or “Two people working together achieve more than one person working alone.” If we remember that wisdom sayings are not intended to be true for every possible situation, we should have no difficulty with the above examples.

Because they have a good reward for their toil is Qoheleth’s justification for this “better” saying. When he claims that two people have a good reward he means that a person who works alone does not gain the same benefit. Reward can describe monetary or material gain; it is used in Jonah 1.3 of the fare Jonah paid the sailors. New American Bible renders it “wages,” while Jerusalem Bible suggests “their work is really profitable.” Revised English Bible thinks “their partnership yields this advantage.” However, on the basis of examples in verses 10-12, it is clear that Qoheleth is not thinking in material terms; rather he has in mind some social or psychological value. So the term “benefit” may be closer to Qoheleth’s sense. We can consider a translation like “Each can benefit the other” or “Each can benefit from the other’s efforts,” or even “They can help each other in the work they do.” Good News Translation puts it another way: “… together they can work more effectively.”

In some languages there may be proverbs that are similar to these biblical ones. When this is the case the translator is of course tempted to insert the local proverb for the biblical one. This procedure may at times be appropriate, but the translator should take care to ensure that the meanings are really equivalent. We must also consider whether the form of the proverb is acceptable in a biblical context; that is, is there any part of the local proverb that would be incompatible with the culture that existed at the time the biblical text was written? In one West African language there is a local proverb: “If you are two, it is better than being one, because the hare of two people does not get away.” This adaptation seems acceptable since it correctly conveys the meaning of the verse, conserves the proverb-like nature of the statement, and is not in conflict with the biblical culture and setting (hares existed in the biblical setting). However, this type of translation does run the risk of giving a false impression. People of this language group may conclude that the Bible has a proverb identical to their own. Therefore the translator must be very cautious before using local proverbs.

Some suggestions for translation are:

• Two people are better than one. Each one can benefit from the other.

• “Two are better than one.” When two people work side by side, both will profit.

• Two people have an advantage that one person alone doesn’t have. If they work together they will have a good outcome.

Quoted with permission from Ogden, Graham S. and Zogbo, Lynell. A Handbook on the Book of Ecclesiates. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 1997. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .