EasyEnglish Bible 2018
Ecclesiastes 2:13
13I realized that it is better to be wise than foolish. In the same way, the light is better than the dark.
Ecclesiastes 2:13 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)Then I saw that wisdom excelleth folly, as far as light excelleth darkness.
- New International Version (NIV)I saw that wisdom is better than folly, just as light is better than darkness.
- English Standard Version (ESV)Then I saw that there is more gain in wisdom than in folly, as there is more gain in light than in darkness.
- New King James Version (NKJV)Then I saw that wisdom excels folly As light excels darkness.
Context of Ecclesiastes 2:13
11Then I thought about everything that I had done, and all my hard work. After all that, I realized that none of these things had a purpose. I was like somebody who tries to catch the wind. None of the things on earth have any value. 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.’ I 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.’
Read all of Ecclesiastes 2Ecclesiastes 2:13 word by word
וְרָאִ֣יתִי אָ֔נִי שֶׁיֵּ֥שׁ יִתְר֛וֹן לַֽחָכְמָ֖ה מִן־הַסִּכְל֑וּת כִּֽיתְר֥וֹן הָא֖וֹר מִן־הַחֹֽשֶׁךְ׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
Cross-references for Ecclesiastes 2:13
- Ecclesiastes 7:11It is good to have wisdom, like money that you receive from your father. Wisdom helps everyone who lives.
- Ecclesiastes 9:16So I realized that wisdom is better than power. But if you are poor, nobody accepts that you are also wise. People soon forget what you said.
- Proverbs 4:5Learn to be wise and to understand things properly. Do not forget my teaching or turn away from it.
- Proverbs 16:16It is better to have wisdom than gold or silver. You should want to understand what is right.
- Malachi 3:18Because of that, you will see again that I am kind to good people, but I punish wicked people. I show the difference between people who serve me well and those who do not.’
- Malachi 4:1‘The great day when I come to judge people will certainly happen. Punishment will come like the great fire of a hot oven. It will destroy all the proud people who do evil things. It will completely destroy them, like a fire that destroys dry grass. Nothing will remain.’ That is what the Lord Almighty says.
- Ecclesiastes 11:7Light makes people happy. It is good to see the sun rise in the morning.
- Psalms 119:105Your word is like a lamp that shines as my guide. It shows me the right way to live.
- Proverbs 4:18The life of righteous people is like the sun at dawn. It gets brighter and brighter until midday.
- Matthew 6:23If your eyes are not good, then your whole body will be in the dark. If the light in you has become dark, you will be living in a very dark place.’
- Luke 11:7But his friend answers from inside his house. He says, “Do not cause problems for me! I have locked my door. My children and I have gone to bed. So I cannot get up and give you any bread.” ’
- Ephesians 5:8Once your minds were completely in the dark. But now you belong to the Lord. As a result, you have become full of light. So now you must live as people who belong to the light.
Commentaries on Ecclesiastes 2:13
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 13Then I saw that wisdom excelleth folly - Though in none of these pursuits I found the supreme good, the happiness my soul longed after; yet I could easily perceive that wisdom excelled the others, as far as light excels darkness. And he immediately subjoins the reasons.Read the comment
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 12-17Verses 12-17 Solomon found that knowledge and prudence were preferable to ignorance and folly, though human wisdom and knowledge will not make a man happy. The most learned of men, who dies a stranger to Christ Jesus, will perish equally with the most ignorant; and what good can commendations on earth do to the body in the grave, or the soul in hell? And the spirits of just men made perfect cannot want them. So that if this were all, we might be led to…Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 13-14wisdom exceeds folly: Wisdom is useful because it helps navigate life successfully. However, it cannot prevent death or give life meaning (Ecclesiastes 2:15–16).Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 13-1413-14. (Pr 17:24). The worldly "wise" man has good sense in managing his affairs, skill and taste in building and planting, and keeps within safe and respectable bounds in pleasure, while the "fool" is wanting in these respects ("darkness," equivalent to fatal error, blind infatuation), yet one event, death, happens to both (Job 21:26).Read the comment
Topics related to Ecclesiastes 2:13
In the dictionaries
Commentaries on Ecclesiastes 2
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
- Tyndale Open Study Notes
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
- Rashi on Tanakh
- Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
- John Wesley’s Notes
- Darby Translation Notes
- Geneva Bible Translation Notes
- Kingcomments
- Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
- Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
- Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
- EGW Writings
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