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 turned to consider wisdom, madness and folly. For what more can the one who succeeds the king do than what he has already done? 13I realized that: Wisdom is more beneficial than folly as light is better than darkness. A wise man has his eyes in his head, while the fool walks in the darkness. Yet, I also came to realize that the same destiny befalls them both. 15Then said I in my heart: “I, even I, will have the same destiny as a fool. So why have I become so wise?” I said in my heart, “This too is meaningless.” 16For the wise man, together with the fool, is not remembered forever. For in the days to come both will be forgotten. Alas, the wise, just like the fool, must 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 8:1Who is like the wise person? Who knows the meaning of a matter? A person’s wisdom makes his face shine, transforming the harshness of his face.
• Ecclesiastes 10:2The heart of the wise is to his right, and the heart of the fool is to his left.
• Proverbs 14:8The wisdom of the prudent is to consider his way, but the folly of fools is deception.
• Proverbs 17:24Wisdom is before the person of understanding, but the eyes of a fool are on the ends of the earth.
• 1 John 2:11But whoever hates his brother is in the darkness and walks in the darkness. He doesn’t know where he is going, because the darkness has made his eyes blind.
• Ecclesiastes 9:1For all this I laid on my heart and to ascertain all this: that the righteous and the wise, as well as their works are in the hand of God. Whether love or hatred, no one knows—everything awaits them.
• Psalms 19:10The fear of Adonai is clean, enduring forever. The judgments of Adonai are true and altogether righteous.
• Psalms 49:10Will he live forever— and never see the Pit?

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