Ecclesiastes 4:5

Foldeth his hands. Literally, “the embracer of his hands,” a Hebrew expression for idleness (see Prov. 6:10; 24:33).

Eateth his own flesh. Jewish commentators use the word “meat” instead of “flesh,” and so suggest the picture of a stolid person sitting down to his meals, concerned exclusively with the pleasures of life. They quote Ex. 16:8 and Isa. 22:13 in support of this interpretation. Probably a more reasonable explanation of this expression is that the lazy dullard is brought to extreme poverty, and his family with him.

Sore travail. Better, “an evil business” or “a wretched task.”