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Ecclesiastes 2:14-16
New American Bible (Revised Edition)

14 Wise people have eyes in their heads,
    but fools walk in darkness.

Yet I knew that the same lot befalls both.[a](A) 15 So I said in my heart, if the fool’s lot is to befall me also, why should I be wise? Where is the profit? And in my heart I decided that this too is vanity. 16 (B)The wise person will have no more abiding remembrance than the fool; for in days to come both will have been forgotten. How is it that the wise person dies[b] like the fool!

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Footnotes

  1. 2:14 Yet I knew…befalls both: the author quotes a traditional saying upholding the advantages of wisdom, but then qualifies it. Nothing, not even wisdom itself, can give someone absolute control over their destiny and therefore guarantee any advantage.
  2. 2:16 The wise person dies: death, until now only alluded to (vv. 14–15), takes center stage and will constantly appear in the author’s reflections through the remainder of the book.
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Ecclesiastes 2:14-16
New International Version

14 The wise have eyes in their heads,
    while the fool walks in the darkness;
but I came to realize
    that the same fate overtakes them both.(A)

15 Then I said to myself,

“The fate of the fool will overtake me also.
    What then do I gain by being wise?”(B)
I said to myself,
    “This too is meaningless.”
16 For the wise, like the fool, will not be long remembered;(C)
    the days have already come when both have been forgotten.(D)
Like the fool, the wise too must die!(E)

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Ecclesiastes 1
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New American Bible (Revised Edition) (NABRE)

Scripture texts, prefaces, introductions, footnotes and cross references used in this work are taken from the New American Bible, revised edition © 2010, 1991, 1986, 1970 Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, Inc., Washington, DC All Rights Reserved. No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.

New International Version (NIV)

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NIV Reverse Interlinear Bible: English to Hebrew and English to Greek. Copyright © 2019 by Zondervan.

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