New International Version
Ecclesiastes 2:16
16For 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!
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.
- 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!
- New Living Translation (NLT)For the wise and the foolish both die. The wise will not be remembered any longer than the fool. In the days to come, both will be forgotten.
Context of Ecclesiastes 2:16
14The 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. 15Then I said to myself, “The fate of the fool will overtake me also. What then do I gain by being wise?” I said to myself, “This too is meaningless.” 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! 17So I hated life, because the work that is done under the sun was grievous to me. All of it is meaningless, a chasing after the wind. 18I hated all the things I had toiled for under the sun, because I must leave them to the one who comes after me.
Read all of Ecclesiastes 2Ecclesiastes 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 1:11No one remembers the former generations, and even those yet to come will not be remembered by those who follow them.
- Exodus 1:6Now Joseph and all his brothers and all that generation died,
- Psalms 88:12Are your wonders known in the place of darkness, or your righteous deeds in the land of oblivion?
- Psalms 103:16the wind blows over it and it is gone, and its place remembers it no more.
- Malachi 3:16Then those who feared the Lord talked with each other, and the Lord listened and heard. A scroll of remembrance was written in his presence concerning those who feared the Lord and honored his name.
- Ecclesiastes 6:8What advantage have the wise over fools? What do the poor gain by knowing how to conduct themselves before others?
- 2 Samuel 3:33The king sang this lament for Abner: “Should Abner have died as the lawless die?
- Psalms 49:10For all can see that the wise die, that the foolish and the senseless also perish, leaving their wealth to others.
- Hebrews 9:27Just as people are destined to die once, and after that to face judgment,
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
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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