4 Again, I saw that for all toil and every skillful work a man is envied by his neighbor. This also is vanity and grasping for the wind.
5 The fool folds his hands and consumes his own flesh.
6 Better a handful with quietness than both hands full, together with toil and grasping for the wind.
7 Then I returned, and I saw vanity under the sun:
8 There is one alone, without companion: He has neither son nor brother. Yet there is no end to all his labors, nor is his eye satisfied with riches. But he never asks, “For whom do I toil and deprive myself of good?” This also is vanity and a grave misfortune.
[Verse 4] can be taken to mean either that doing excellent work makes others jealous, or that the worker just wants to do well because he is envious of what others have. — Grace, page 1172
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The man who achieves great skill in his profession is envied by his neighbor. … This spirit of rivalry renders the achievement of greatness a lonely and empty accomplishment. One may suggest that the way to avoid the frustrations which rivalry produces is to do nothing. … The fool resigns all ambition to perform a successful work. He sits in seething anger, overcome by a sense of life’s futility. …
In contrast to the excessive toil of the envious and the bitter resignation of the fool, we view in [v.6] the model of the man of wisdom. He adopts a course of action … between the self-ruinous sloth of the fool and the vexatious toil of the workaholic.
The Preacher points now [vs.7-8] to the dilemma of the one alone whose heart is set on the gathering of riches. Since his heart is committed to the acquisition of riches for himself, he never takes the time to relate significantly to others. … The pursuit of riches so thoroughly absorbs his energies that he shuts himself away from all others. … From his restless and lonely heart comes the question, “For whom do I labor…”” No profit can be discovered in the midst of such loneliness. … Since no one profits from his labor and he himself cannot (for his eye cannot be satisfied), the whole enterprise must be pronounced profitless and vain. — KJV Commentary, pages 741-742.
There are various interpretations of v.5. The KJV Commentary (above) says it refers to a man who gives up and does no work.
Williams says:
He further observed that the man who with grasping hands, enriched himself by robbing others, was a fool; for he ate his own flesh, that is, was eaten up with self remorse. — Williams, page 442.
Guthrie says:
The irony of it is that it is often the least enterprising, the fool (v.5) … who obtains the most satisfaction. … “Eats his own flesh” [means] eats what meat he has without coveting that of others. It is not a reference to the autophagous [self-devouring] tendency of idleness; this hardly suits the context. — Guthrie, page 573.
And Grace says:
Contrasted with the man who works hard to produce skillful works, the fool does nothing because of his laziness. The context seems to favor the interpretation that “eat his own flesh” means that the lazy man is content to just eat his food in quietness. — Grace, page 1172.
The interpretation by Grace is similar to that of the KJV Commentary, and I think it makes the most sense. I don’t think Guthrie is even close.
Verse 6 means that it’s better to have a little and be content than to have a lot and be discontent.
returned (v.7) — to his study of life “under the sun.”
Money does not buy happiness—or friends. Here (v.8) described is a rich but miserable miser. The person who seeks money never has enough (Proverbs 27:20) … his insatiable greed consumes him. — Grace, page 1172.
