Ecclesiastes 2:12-16
Holman Christian Standard Bible
The Relative Value of Wisdom
12 Then I turned to consider wisdom,(A) madness, and folly, for what will the man be like who comes after the king? He[a] will do what has already been done.(B) 13 And I realized that there is an advantage to wisdom over folly, like the advantage of light over darkness.(C)
14 The wise man has eyes in his head,
but the fool walks in darkness.(D)
Yet I also knew that one fate comes to them both.(E) 15 So I said to myself, “What happens to the fool will also happen to me. Why then have I been overly wise?”(F) And I said to myself that this is also futile. 16 For, just like the fool, there is no lasting remembrance of the wise man,(G) since in the days to come both will be forgotten. How is it that the wise man dies just like the fool?
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- Ecclesiastes 2:12 Some Hb mss read They
Ecclesiastes 2:12-16
International Standard Version
12 Next I turned to examine wisdom, insanity, and foolishness, because what can a person do who succeeds the king except what has already been accomplished? 13 I concluded that wisdom is more useful than foolishness, just as light is more useful than darkness. 14 The wise use their eyes, but the fool walks in darkness. I also perceived that the same outcome affects them all.
The Pointlessness of Life
15 Then I told myself, “Whatever happens to the fool will happen also to me. Therefore what’s the point in being so wise?” And I told myself that this also is pointless. 16 For neither the wise nor the fool will be long remembered, since in days to come everything will be forgotten. The wise man dies the same way as the fool, does he not?
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