Ecclesiastes 2:16

Ecclesiastes 2:16 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)For there is no remembrance of the wise more than of the fool for ever; seeing that which now is in the days to come shall all be forgotten. And how dieth the wise man? as the fool.
• New International Version (NIV)For the wise, like the fool, will not be long remembered; the days have already come when both have been forgotten. Like the fool, the wise too must die!
• English Standard Version (ESV)For of the wise as of the fool there is no enduring remembrance, seeing that in the days to come all will have been long forgotten. How the wise dies just like the fool!
• New King James Version (NKJV)For there is no 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!

Context of Ecclesiastes 2:16

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.’ People 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. 18I thought about all the hard work that I have done here on the earth. When I die, all the things that I worked so hard to get will belong to the next king. So I hated all my hard work.

Ecclesiastes 2:16 word by word

כִּי֩ אֵ֨ין זִכְר֧וֹן לֶחָכָ֛ם עִֽם־הַכְּסִ֖יל לְעוֹלָ֑ם בְּשֶׁכְּבָ֞ר הַיָּמִ֤ים הַבָּאִים֙ הַכֹּ֣ל נִשְׁכָּ֔ח וְאֵ֛יךְ יָמ֥וּת הֶחָכָ֖ם עִֽם־הַכְּסִֽיל׃Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• no remembranceזִכָּרוֹןzikrôn · memorialH2146
• of the wiseחָכָםchâkâm · wiseH2450
• more thanעִם‛im · withH5973
• of the foolכְּסִילkesîyl · foolH3684
• for everעוֹלָם‛ôlâm ‛ôlâm · forever: enduringH5769
• seeing that which nowכְּבָרkebâr · alreadyH3528
• in the daysיוֹםyôm · dayH3117
• to comeבּוֹאbô' · to come (in): comeH935
• shall all be forgottenשָׁכַחshâkach shâkêach · to forgetH7911
• And how diethמוּתmûth · to dieH4191

Cross-references for Ecclesiastes 2:16

• Ecclesiastes 1:11People do not remember things that happened in the past. In the future, people will not remember what has happened either.
• Exodus 1:6After some time, Joseph died. Joseph's brothers and all his generation also died.
• Psalms 88:12In those dark places, they do not see your miracles. In that place where people forget everything, they cannot know about the good things that you do.
• Psalms 103:16A hot wind blows over flowers and they die! Nobody even remembers where they were growing.
• Malachi 3:16Then the people who respected the Lord talked to each other. The Lord listened to what they said. While the Lord watched, someone wrote names on a scroll. Those were the names of the people who worshipped the Lord and respected the Lord's name. They wrote down their names so that people would remember them.
• Ecclesiastes 6:8Does a wise person have a better life than a foolish person? No, he does not! Does it help a poor person if he knows how to live well? No!
• 2 Samuel 3:33The king sang this song about Abner's death: ‘Abner, you should not have died like a fool.
• 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.
• Hebrews 9:27Every person must die once. After death, God will judge each person.

Commentaries on Ecclesiastes 2:16

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 16There is no remembrance - The wise and the fool are equally subject to death; and, in most instances, they are equally forgotten. Time sweeps away all remembrances, except the very few out of millions which are preserved for a while in the page of history.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. 15-16The fate of the fool will also befall me. What then have I gained by being wise?: Since the lives of both are short, the conclusion is that everything is meaningless. both will be forgotten: Future generations will not remember us or our achievements, so our efforts will amount to nothing (compare Ecclesiastes 1:11; 9:13–16).Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 1616. remembrance--a great aim of the worldly (Ge 11:4). The righteous alone attain it (Psa 112:6; Pr 10:7). for ever--no perpetual memorial. that which now is--Maurer, "In the days to come all things shall be now long ago forgotten."Read the comment

Topics related to Ecclesiastes 2:16

• Death
• Wisdom

In the dictionaries

• Wise, Man
• Gather
• Laughter
• 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