Ecclesiastes 2:12-16
Legacy Standard Bible
Wisdom Excels Folly
12 So I turned to (A)see wisdom, madness, and simpleminded folly. What will the man do who will come after the king except (B)what has already been done? 13 And I saw that there is an advantage in (C)wisdom over simpleminded folly as light has an advantage over darkness. 14 The wise man’s eyes are in his head, but the (D)fool walks in darkness. And yet I know that the (E)fate of one becomes the fate of all of them. 15 Then I said in my heart, “(F)As is the fate of the fool, so will my fate be also. (G)Why then have I been extremely wise?” So I said in my heart, “This too is vanity.” 16 For there is (H)no remembrance of the wise man along with the fool forever, inasmuch as in the coming days all will be forgotten. And (I)how the wise man dies with the fool!
Read full chapter
Ecclesiastes 2:12-16
Evangelical Heritage Version
12 I turned my attention to consider wisdom, madness, and stupidity—for what will the man do who will succeed the king? Only what has already been done. 13 I saw wisdom is better than stupidity, as light is better than darkness. 14 The wise man has eyes in his head, but the fool walks in darkness. Yet I also knew that one fate meets[a] them all. 15 So I said in my heart, “The same fate that meets the fool will also meet me. So why then have I been overly wise?” So I said in my heart, “This too is just vapor.”
16 No one will remember the wise man or the fool for long. In days to come, all of them will already be forgotten. How does the wise man die? Just like the fool.
Read full chapterFootnotes
- Ecclesiastes 2:14 Or destination awaits
Legacy Standard Bible Copyright ©2021 by The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved. Managed in partnership with Three Sixteen Publishing Inc. LSBible.org For Permission to Quote Information visit https://www.LSBible.org.
The Holy Bible, Evangelical Heritage Version®, EHV®, © 2019 Wartburg Project, Inc. All rights reserved.