Ecclesiastes 2:11-16
New American Standard Bible
12So I turned to consider wisdom, insanity, and foolishness; for what will the man do who will come after the king, except what has already been done?
13Then I saw that wisdom surpasses foolishness as light surpasses darkness.
14The wise person’s eyes are in his head, but the fool walks in darkness. And yet I know that one and the same fate happens to both of them.
15Then I said to myself, 'As is the fate of the fool, it will also happen to me. Why then have I been extremely wise?' So I said to myself, 'This too is futility.'
16For there is no lasting remembrance of the wise, along with the fool, since in the coming days everything will soon be forgotten. And how the wise and the fool alike die!
King James Version
12And I turned myself to behold wisdom, and madness, and folly: for what can the man do that cometh after the king? even that which hath been already done.
13Then I saw that wisdom excelleth folly, as far as light excelleth darkness.
14The wise man's eyes are in his head; but the fool walketh in darkness: and I myself perceived also that one event happeneth to them all.
15Then said I in my heart, As it happeneth to the fool, so it happeneth even to me; and why was I then more wise? Then I said in my heart, that this also is vanity.
16For there is no remembrance of the wise more than of the fool for ever; seeing that which now is in the days to come shall all be forgotten. And how dieth the wise man? as the fool.
Christian Standard Bible
12Then I turned to consider wisdom, madness, and folly, for what will the king's successor be like? He will do what has already been done.
13And I realized that there is an advantage to wisdom over folly, like the advantage of light over darkness.
14The wise person has eyes in his head, but the fool walks in darkness.Yet I also knew that one fate comes to them both.
15So I said to myself, "What happens to the fool will also happen to me. Why then have I been overly wise? " And I said to myself that this is also futile.
16For, just like the fool, there is no lasting remembrance of the wise, since in the days to come both will be forgotten. How is it that the wise person dies just like the fool?
New Living Translation
12So I decided to compare wisdom with foolishness and madness (for who can do this better than I, the king? ).
13I thought, 'Wisdom is better than foolishness, just as light is better than darkness.
14For the wise can see where they are going, but fools walk in the dark.' Yet I saw that the wise and the foolish share the same fate.
15Both will die. So I said to myself, 'Since I will end up the same as the fool, what’s the value of all my wisdom? This is all so meaningless!'
16For the wise and the foolish both die. The wise will not be remembered any longer than the fool. In the days to come, both will be forgotten.
English Standard Version
12So I turned to consider wisdom and madness and folly. For what can the man do who comes after the king? Only what has already been done.
13Then I saw that there is more gain in wisdom than in folly, as there is more gain in light than in darkness.
14The wise person has his eyes in his head, but the fool walks in darkness. And yet I perceived that the same event happens to all of them.
15Then I said in my heart, “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.
16For of the wise as of the fool there is no enduring remembrance, seeing that in the days to come all will have been long forgotten. How the wise dies just like the fool!
New International Version
Chapter 2
11Yet when I surveyed all that my hands had done and what I had toiled to achieve, everything was meaningless, a chasing after the wind; nothing was gained under the sun. 12Then I turned my thoughts to consider wisdom, and also madness and folly. What more can the king's successor do than what has already been done? 13I saw that wisdom is better than folly, just as light is better than darkness. 14The 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.
15Then I said to myself, 'The fate of the fool will overtake me also. What then do I gain by being wise?' I said to myself, 'This too is meaningless.'
16For the wise, like the fool, will not be long remembered; the days have already come when both have been forgotten. Like the fool, the wise too must die!
New King James Version