New King James Version
Ecclesiastes 2:13
13Then I saw that wisdom excels folly As light excels darkness.
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 Living Translation (NLT)I thought, “Wisdom is better than foolishness, just as light is better than darkness.
Context of Ecclesiastes 2:13
11Then I looked on all the works that my hands had done And on the labor in which I had toiled; And indeed all was vanity and grasping for the wind. There was no profit under the sun. 12Then I turned myself to consider wisdom and madness and folly; For what can the man do who succeeds the king?— Only what he has already done. Then 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. Yet I myself perceived That the same event happens to them all. 15So I said in my heart, “As it happens to the fool, It also happens to me, And why was I then more wise?” Then I said in my heart, “This also 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
Words taken from the KJV.
Cross-references for Ecclesiastes 2:13
- Ecclesiastes 7:11Wisdom is good with an inheritance, And profitable to those who see the sun.
- Ecclesiastes 9:16Then I said: “Wisdom is better than strength. Nevertheless the poor man’s wisdom is despised, And his words are not heard.
- Proverbs 4:5Get wisdom! Get understanding! Do not forget, nor turn away from the words of my mouth.
- Proverbs 16:16How much better to get wisdom than gold! And to get understanding is to be chosen rather than silver.
- Malachi 3:18Then you shall again discern 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 an oven, And all the proud, yes, all who do wickedly will be stubble. And the day which is coming shall burn them up,” Says the Lord of hosts, “That will leave them neither root nor branch.
- Ecclesiastes 11:7Truly the light is sweet, And it is pleasant for the eyes to behold 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 just is like the shining sun, That shines ever brighter unto the perfect day.
- Matthew 6:23But if your eye is bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If therefore the light that is in you is darkness, how great is that darkness!
- Luke 11:7and he will answer from within and say, ‘Do not trouble me; the door is now shut, and my children are with me in bed; I cannot rise and give to you’?
- Ephesians 5:8For you were once 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
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 King James Version — © 1982 Thomas Nelson, Inc
Commentaries