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Ecclesiastes 2:15
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13 Then I saw that wisdom aexcels folly
As light excels darkness. 
14 aThe wise man’s eyes are in his head,
But the fool walks in darkness.
Yet I myself perceived
That bthe same event happens to them all. 
15 So I said in my heart,
“As it happens to the fool,
It also happens to me,
And why was I then more wise?”
Then I said in my heart,
“This also is vanity.”
16 For there is ano more remembrance of the wise than of the fool forever,
Since all that now is will be forgotten in the days to come.
And how does a wise man die?
As the fool!  
17 Therefore I hated life because the work that was done under the sun was distressing to me, for all is vanity and grasping for the wind.
18 Then I hated all my labor in which I had toiled under the sun, because aI must leave it to the man who will come after me.  
19 And who knows whether he will be wise or a fool? Yet he will rule over all my labor in which I toiled and in which I have shown myself wise under the sun. This also is vanity.
20 Therefore I turned my heart and despaired of all the labor in which I had toiled under the sun.
21 For there is a man whose labor is with wisdom, knowledge, and skill; yet he must leave his1 heritage to a man who has not labored for it. This also is vanity and a great evil.  
22 aFor what has man for all his labor, and for the striving of his heart with which he has toiled under the sun?  
23 For all his days are asorrowful, and his work burdensome; even in the night his heart takes no rest. This also is vanity.  
24 aNothing is better for a man than that he should eat and drink, and that his soul should enjoy good in his labor. This also, I saw, was from the hand of God.  
Verse Comparison: Ecclesiastes 2:15

<< Ecclesiastes 2:14   Ecclesiastes 2:16 >>

American Standard Version
Then said I in my heart, As it happeneth to the fool, so will it happen even to me; and why was I then more wise? Then said I in my heart, that this also is vanity.

Amplified® Bible
Then said I in my heart, As it happens to the fool, so it will happen even to me. And of what use is it then for me to be more wise? Then I said in my heart, This also is vanity (emptiness, vainglory, and futility)!

Contemporary English Version
Finally, I said to myself, "Being wise got me nowhere! The same thing will happen to me that happens to fools. Nothing makes sense.

Darby English Version
And I said in my heart, As it happeneth to the fool so will it happen even to me; and why was I then so wise? Then I said in my heart that this also is vanity.

Good News Bible
I thought to myself, "What happens to fools is going to happen to me, too. So what have I gained from being so wise?" "Nothing," I answered, "not a thing."

King James Version
Then 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.

New American Standard Bible
Then I said to myself, "As is the fate of the fool, it will also befall me. Why then have I been extremely wise? So I said to myself, "This too is vanity.""

New International Version
Then I thought in my heart,
"The fate of the fool will overtake me also.
What then do I gain by being wise?"
I said in my heart,
"This too is meaningless."

New King James Version
So I said in my heart,
“ As it happens to the fool,
It also happens to me,
And why was I then more wise?”
Then I said in my heart,
“ This also is vanity.”

N.A.S.B. in E-Prime
Then I said to myself, " As will occur to the fool, it will also befall me Why then have I grown extremely wise?" So I said to myself, "This too seems like vanity."

Revised Standard Version
Then I said to myself, "What befalls the fool will befall me also; why then have I been so very wise?" And I said to myself that this also is vanity.

Young's Literal Translation
and I said in my heart, `As it happeneth with the fool, it happeneth also with me, and why am I then more wise?' And I spake in my heart, that also this `is' vanity:


<< Ecclesiastes 2:14   Ecclesiastes 2:16 >>

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