Ecclesiastes 2:14
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14 The wise have eyes in their head,
but fools walk in darkness.
Yet I perceived that the same fate befalls all of them.(A)
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Proverbs 17:24
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24 The discerning person looks to wisdom,
but the eyes of a fool to the ends of the earth.(A)
Psalm 49:10
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10 When we look at the wise, they die;
fool and dolt perish together
and leave their wealth to others.(A)
Ecclesiastes 9:11
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11 Again I saw that under the sun the race is not to the swift, nor the battle to the strong, nor bread to the wise, nor riches to the intelligent, nor favor to the skillful, but time and chance happen to them all.(A)
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1 John 2:11
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11 But whoever hates a brother or sister is in the darkness, walks in the darkness, and does not know the way to go, because the darkness has brought on blindness.(A)
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Ecclesiastes 9:1-3
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Take Life as It Comes
9 All this I laid to heart, examining it all, how the righteous and the wise and their deeds are in the hand of God; whether it is love or hate one does not know. Everything that confronts them 2 is vanity,[a] since the same fate comes to all, to the righteous and the wicked, to the good and the evil,[b] to the clean and the unclean, to those who sacrifice and those who do not sacrifice. As are the good, so are the sinners; those who swear are like those who shun an oath.(A) 3 This is an evil in all that happens under the sun, that the same fate comes to everyone. Moreover, the hearts of humans are full of evil; madness is in their hearts while they live, and after that they go to the dead.(B)
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Ecclesiastes 3:19
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19 For the fate of humans and the fate of animals is the same; as one dies, so dies the other. They all have the same breath, and humans have no advantage over the animals, for all is vanity.(A)
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Ecclesiastes 10:2-3
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2 The heart of the wise inclines to the right,
but the heart of a fool to the left.
3 Even when fools walk on the road, they lack sense
and show to everyone that they are fools.(A)
Ecclesiastes 9:16
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16 So I said, “Wisdom is better than might; yet the poor man’s wisdom is despised, and his words are not heeded.”(A)
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Ecclesiastes 8:1
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Obey the King and Enjoy Yourself
8 Who is like the wise man?
And who knows the interpretation of a thing?
Being wise makes one’s face shine,
but arrogance changes one’s face.(A)
Ecclesiastes 7:2
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2 It is better to go to the house of mourning
than to go to the house of feasting,
for this is the end of everyone,
and the living will lay it to heart.(A)
Ecclesiastes 6:6
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6 Even though he should live a thousand years twice over yet enjoy no good—do not all go to one place?
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Proverbs 14:8
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8 It is the wisdom of the clever to understand where they go,
but the folly of fools misleads.(A)
Psalm 19:10
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition
10 More to be desired are they than gold,
even much fine gold;
sweeter also than honey
and drippings of the honeycomb.(A)
New Revised Standard Version, Updated Edition. Copyright © 2021 National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.