Ecclesiastes 2:12-17

12Then I decided to think about wisdom. I also thought about foolish ways to live. I thought, ‘The next king will not do any more than I have already done.’

13I realized that it is better to be wise than foolish. In the same way, the light is better than the dark.

14Wise people can see where they are going. Foolish people walk in the dark. But at the end of their lives, there is no difference. They both die.

15Then I thought, ‘I will also die, as foolish people do. So what value have I received from my great wisdom?’ I said to myself, ‘Wisdom too has no purpose.’

16People forget about wise people as quickly as they forget about fools. One day, nobody will remember any of them. It is true! As fools all have to die, wise people will also die.

17So I hated life. Everything that happens on the earth only brings me trouble. Nothing has any purpose. It is as useless as somebody who tries to catch the wind.