New American Standard Bible 1995
Ecclesiastes 2:13
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
11Thus I considered all my activities which my hands had done and the labor which I had exerted, and behold all was vanity and striving after wind and there was no profit under the sun. 12So I turned to consider wisdom, madness and folly; for what will the man do who will come after the king except what has already been done? And I saw that wisdom excels folly as light excels darkness. 14The wise man’s eyes are in his head, but the fool walks in darkness. And yet I know that one fate befalls them both. 15Then I said to myself, “As is the fate of the fool, it will also befall me. Why then have I been extremely wise?” So I said to myself, “This too is vanity.”
Read all of Ecclesiastes 2Ecclesiastes 2:13 word by word
וְרָאִ֣יתִי אָ֔נִי שֶׁיֵּ֥שׁ יִתְר֛וֹן לַֽחָכְמָ֖ה מִן־הַסִּכְל֑וּת כִּֽיתְר֥וֹן הָא֖וֹר מִן־הַחֹֽשֶׁךְ׃Read the interlinear
Cross-references for Ecclesiastes 2:13
- Ecclesiastes 7:11Wisdom along with an inheritance is good And an advantage to those who see the sun.
- Ecclesiastes 9:16So I said, “Wisdom is better than strength.” But the wisdom of the poor man is despised and his words are not heeded.
- Proverbs 4:5Acquire wisdom! Acquire understanding! Do not forget nor turn away from the words of my mouth.
- Proverbs 16:16How much better it is to get wisdom than gold! And to get understanding is to be chosen above silver.
- Malachi 3:18So you will again distinguish between the righteous and the wicked, between one who serves God and one who does not serve Him.
- Malachi 4:1“For behold, the day is coming, burning like a furnace; and all the arrogant and every evildoer will be chaff; and the day that is coming will set them ablaze,” says the Lord of hosts, “so that it will leave them neither root nor branch.”
- Ecclesiastes 11:7The light is pleasant, and it is good for the eyes to see the sun.
- Psalms 119:105Your word is a lamp to my feet And a light to my path.
- Proverbs 4:18But the path of the righteous is like the light of dawn, That shines brighter and brighter until the full day.
- Matthew 6:23But if your eye is bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light that is in you is darkness, how great is the darkness!
- Luke 11:7and from inside he answers and says, ‘Do not bother me; the door has already been shut and my children and I are in bed; I cannot get up and give you anything.’
- Ephesians 5:8for you were formerly darkness, but now you are Light in the Lord; walk as children of 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
Notes
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
New American Standard Bible 1995 — © 1960–1995 The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved.
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