Ecclesiastes 2:14

Ecclesiastes 2:14 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)The 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.
• New International Version (NIV)The 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.
• English Standard Version (ESV)The 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.
• New King James Version (NKJV)The wise man’s eyes are in his head, But the fool walks in darkness. Yet I myself perceived That the same event happens to them all.

Context of Ecclesiastes 2:14

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. Wise 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.

Ecclesiastes 2:14 word by word

הֶֽחָכָם֙ עֵינָ֣יו בְּרֹאשׁ֔וֹ וְהַכְּסִ֖יל בַּחֹ֣שֶׁךְ הוֹלֵ֑ךְ וְיָדַ֣עְתִּי גַם־אָ֔נִי שֶׁמִּקְרֶ֥ה אֶחָ֖ד יִקְרֶ֥ה אֶת־כֻּלָּֽם׃Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• The wise man’sחָכָםchâkâm · wiseH2450
• eyesעַ֫יִן‛ayin · eyeH5869
• in his headרֹאשׁrô'sh · headH7218
• but the foolכְּסִילkesîyl · foolH3684
• walkethהָלַךְhâlak · to go: walkH1980
• in darknessחֹ֫שֶׁךְchôshek · darknessH2822
• and I myself perceivedיָדַעyâda‛ · to knowH3045
• also that oneאֶחָד'echâd · oneH259
• eventמִקְרֶהmiqreh · accidentH4745
• happenethקָרָהqârâh · to meetH7136

Cross-references for Ecclesiastes 2:14

• Ecclesiastes 8:1This is what I know about people who are truly wise. They know how to explain things. Wisdom helps a person to be happy. It causes them to smile even when they have trouble.
• Ecclesiastes 10:2If you are wise, you know the right way to go. But a fool is stupid and he goes the wrong way.
• Proverbs 14:8A careful person understands what is right and he does it. But a foolish person's silly thoughts deceive him.
• Proverbs 17:24A person who knows what is right can easily find wisdom. But a foolish person looks everywhere and never finds it.
• 1 John 2:11But if someone hates other believers, he is still living in a bad way. He is like someone who is walking in the dark. He cannot see where he is going. He is like a blind person. He cannot understand God's true message.
• Ecclesiastes 9:1I thought about all these things so that I could understand them. I realized that God controls what happens to people. That includes righteous people and wise people. God decides the things that they do. Nobody knows what will happen in their lives. Other people may love them, or they may hate them.
• Psalms 19:10They are more valuable than gold, even the best gold. They are sweeter than the best honey.
• Psalms 49:10Surely you see that even wise people die, in the way that fools and stupid people also die. Then their money will belong to someone else.

Commentaries on Ecclesiastes 2:14

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 14The wise man's eyes, etc. - Well expressed by Choheleth: - "The wise are circumspect, maturely weigh The consequence of what they undertake, Good ends propose, and fittest means apply To accomplish their designs." But the fool walketh in darkness - "But fools, deprived Of reason's guidance, or in darkness grope, Or, unreflecting like a frantic man, Who on the brink of some steep precipice Attempts to run a race with heedless steps, Rush to their own…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 2:14

• Death
• Man
• Wisdom

In the dictionaries

• Gather
• Laughter
• Chance
• Event
• Fool; Folly
• Hap; Haply
• Happen
• Synagogue, the Great

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