14 The wise man has eyes in his head, but the fool walks in darkness. Yet I also came to realize that one fate overcomes them both. 15 So I said to myself, “The fate of the fool will also befall me. What then have I gained by being wise?” And I said to myself that this too is futile. 16 For there is no lasting remembrance of the wise, just as with the fool, seeing that both will be forgotten in the days to come. Alas, the wise man will die just like the fool!
Ecclesiastes 2:14–16
Semantically similar passages
Psalms 49:9–11
9 that he should live on forever and not see decay. 10 For it is clear that wise men die, and the foolish and the senseless both perish and leave their wealth to others. 11 Their graves are their eternal homes— their dwellings for endless generations— even though their…
Ecclesiastes 6:7–9
7 All a man’s labor is for his mouth, yet his appetite is never satisfied. 8 What advantage, then, has the wise man over the fool? What gain comes to the poor man who knows how to conduct himself before others? 9 Better what the eye can see than the wandering of desi…
Ecclesiastes 7:22–24
22 For you know in your heart that many times you yourself have cursed others. 23 All this I tested by wisdom, saying, “I resolve to be wise.” But it was beyond me. 24 What exists is out of reach and very deep. Who can fathom it?
Sirach 22:10–12
10 But children, being haughty, through disdain and want of nurture do stain the nobility of their kindred. (KJV) 11 Weep for the dead, for he lacks light. Weep for a fool, for he lacks understanding. Weep more sweetly for the dead, because he has found rest, but the life… (WEB)
Ecclesiastes 10:13–15
13 The beginning of his talk is folly, and the end of his speech is evil madness. 14 Yet the fool multiplies words. No one knows what is coming, and who can tell him what will come after him? 15 The toil of a fool wearies him, for he does not know the way to the city.
Ecclesiastes 3:18–20
18 I said to myself, “As for the sons of men, God tests them so that they may see for themselves that they are but beasts.” 19 For the fates of both men and beasts are the same: As one dies, so dies the other—they all have the same breath. Man has no advantage over… 20 …
Ecclesiastes 9:1–2
1 So I took all this to heart and concluded that the righteous and the wise, as well as their deeds, are in God’s hands. Man does not know what lies ahead, whether love or hate. 2 It is the same for all: There is a common fate for the righteous and the wicked, for…
Ecclesiastes 1:16–18
16 I said to myself, “Behold, I have grown and increased in wisdom beyond all those before me who were over Jerusalem, and my mind has observed a wealth of wisdom and knowledge.” 17 So I set my mind to know wisdom and madness and folly; I learned that this, too, is… 18 …
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