The Vanity of Living Wisely

12 (A)So I turned to consider (B)wisdom and madness and folly. For what can the man do who comes after the king? Only (C)what has already been done. 13 Then I saw that there is more gain in wisdom than in folly, as there is more gain in light than in darkness. 14 (D)The wise person has his eyes in his head, but the fool walks in darkness. And yet I perceived that the (E)same event happens to all of them. 15 Then I said in my heart, (F)“What happens to the fool will happen to me also. Why then have I been so very wise?” And I said in my heart that this also is vanity. 16 For of the wise as of the fool there is (G)no enduring remembrance, seeing that in the days to come all will have been long forgotten. (H)How the wise dies just like the fool!

Read full chapter

Wisdom Surpasses Foolishness

12 So I turned to (A)consider wisdom, insanity, and foolishness; for what will the man do who will come after the king, except (B)what has already been done? 13 Then I saw that (C)wisdom surpasses foolishness as light surpasses darkness. 14 The wise person’s eyes are in his head, but the (D)fool walks in darkness. And yet I know that (E)one and the same fate happens to [a]both of them. 15 Then I said [b]to myself, “(F)As is the fate of the fool, it will also happen to me. (G)Why then have I been extremely wise?” So [c]I said to myself, “This too is futility.” 16 For there is (H)no [d]lasting remembrance of the wise, along with the fool, since in the coming days everything will [e]soon be forgotten. And (I)how the wise and the fool alike die!

Read full chapter

Notas al pie

  1. Ecclesiastes 2:14 Lit all of
  2. Ecclesiastes 2:15 Lit in my heart
  3. Ecclesiastes 2:15 Lit I spoke in my heart
  4. Ecclesiastes 2:16 Lit forever
  5. Ecclesiastes 2:16 Lit already