Ecclesiastes 2:15

The NET Bible®

So I thought to myself, "The fate of the fool will happen even to me! Then what did I gain by becoming so excessively wise?" So I lamented to myself, "The benefits of wisdom are ultimately meaningless!"

Parallel Translations

New Living Translation
Both will die. So I said to myself, "Since I will end up the same as the fool, what's the value of all my wisdom? This is all so meaningless!"

Update Bible Version
Then I said in my heart, As it happens to the fool, so it will happen even to me; and why was I then more wise? Then I said in my heart, that this also is vanity.

New Century Version
I thought to myself, "What happens to a fool will happen to me, too, so what is the reward for being wise?" I said to myself, "Being wise is also useless."

Webster's Bible Translation
Then said I in my heart, As it happeneth to the fool, so it happeneth even to me; and why was I then more wise? Then I said in my heart, that this also [is] vanity.

World English Bible
Then said I in my heart, "As it happens to the fool, so will it happen even to me; and why was I then more wise?" Then said I in my heart that this also is vanity.

Amplified Bible
Then I said to myself, "As it happens to the fool, so death will also happen to me. What use is it then for me to be extremely wise?" Then I said in my heart, "This too is vanity (meaningless)."

English Standard Version
Then I said in my heart, "What happens to the fool will happen to me also. Why then have I been so very wise?" And I said in my heart that this also is vanity.

Wycliffe Bible (1395)
And Y seide in myn herte, If o deth schal be bothe of the fool and of me, what profitith it to me, that Y yaf more bisynesse to wisdom? And Y spak with my soule, and perseyuede, that this also was vanyte.

English Revised Version
Then said I in my heart, As it happeneth to the fool, so will it happen even to me; and why was I then more wise? Then I said in my heart, that this also was vanity.

Berean Standard Bible
So I said to myself, "The fate of the fool will also befall me. What then have I gained by being wise?" And I said to myself that this too is futile.

Contemporary English Version
Finally, I said to myself, "Being wise got me nowhere! The same thing will happen to me that happens to fools. Nothing makes sense.

American Standard Version
Then said I in my heart, As it happeneth to the fool, so will it happen even to me; and why was I then more wise? Then said I in my heart, that this also is vanity.

Bible in Basic English
Then said I in my heart: As it comes to the foolish man, so will it come to me; so why have I been wise overmuch? Then I said in my heart: This again is to no purpose.

Complete Jewish Bible
So I said to myself, "If the same thing happens to the fool as to me, then what did I gain by being wise?" and I thought to myself, "This too is pointless.

Darby Translation
And I said in my heart, As it happeneth to the fool so will it happen even to me; and why was I then so wise? Then I said in my heart that this also is vanity.

Easy-to-Read Version
I thought to myself, "The same thing that happens to a fool will also happen to me. So why have I tried so hard to become wise?" I said to myself, "Being wise is also useless."

JPS Old Testament (1917)
Then said I in my heart: 'As it happeneth to the fool, so will it happen even to me; and why was I then more wise?' Then I said in my heart, that this also is vanity.

King James Version (1611)
Then said I in my heart, As it happeneth to the foole, so it happeneth euen to me, and why was I then more wise? then I said in my heart, That this also is vanitie.

New Life Bible
Then I said to myself, "What happens to the fool will happen to me also. Why then have I been so very wise?" So I said to myself, "This also is for nothing."

New Revised Standard
Then I said to myself, "What happens to the fool will happen to me also; why then have I been so very wise?" And I said to myself that this also is vanity.

Geneva Bible (1587)
Then I thought in mine heart, It befalleth vnto me, as it befalleth to ye foole. Why therefore doe I then labour to be more wise? And I sayd in mine heart, that this also is vanitie.

George Lamsa Translation
Then I said in my heart, The misfortune of the fool will happen to me also; and why was I then more wise? Then I said in my heart, This also is vanity.

Good News Translation
I thought to myself, "What happens to fools is going to happen to me, too. So what have I gained from being so wise?" "Nothing," I answered, "not a thing."

J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
Then said, I, in my heart, As it happeneth to the dullard, even to me, will it happen, but wherefore, then, became, I, wise to excess? Therefore spake I, in my heart, Even this, is vanity.

Douay-Rheims Bible
And I said in my heart: If the death of the fool and mine shall be one, what doth it avail me, that I have applied myself more to the study of wisdom? And speaking with my own mind, I perceived that this also was vanity.

Revised Standard Version
Then I said to myself, "What befalls the fool will befall me also; why then have I been so very wise?" And I said to myself that this also is vanity.

Bishop's Bible (1568)
Then thought I in my mynde, yf it happen vnto the foole as it doth vnto me, what needeth me then to labour any more for wisdome? So I confessed within my heart that this also was but vanitie.

Brenton's Septuagint (LXX)
And I said in my heart, As the event of the fool is, so shall it be to me, even to me: and to what purpose have I gained wisdom? I said moreover in my heart, This is also vanity, because the fool speaks of his abundance.

Christian Standard Bible®
So I said to myself, “What happens to the fool will also happen to me. Why then have I been overly wise?” And I said to myself that this is also futile.

Hebrew Names Version
Then said I in my heart, "As it happens to the fool, so will it happen even to me; and why was I then more wise?" Then said I in my heart that this also is vanity.

King James Version
Then said I in my heart, As it happeneth to the fool, so it happeneth even to me; and why was I then more wise? Then I said in my heart, that this also is vanity.

Lexham English Bible
So I said to myself, "If I also suffer the same fate as the fool, what advantage is my great wisdom?" So I said to myself, "This also is vanity!"

Literal Translation
And I said in my heart, As the event of the stupid one, even so it will happen to me; and why then was I more wise? Then I said in my heart that this also is vanity.

Young's Literal Translation
and I said in my heart, `As it happeneth with the fool, it happeneth also with me, and why am I then more wise?' And I spake in my heart, that also this [is] vanity:

Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
Then thought I in my mynde: Yf it happen vnto the foole as it doth vnto me, what nedeth me then to laboure eny more for wy?dome? So I confessed within my harte, that this also was but vanite.

THE MESSAGE
When I realized that my fate's the same as the fool's, I had to ask myself, "So why bother being wise?" It's all smoke, nothing but smoke. The smart and the stupid both disappear out of sight. In a day or two they're both forgotten. Yes, both the smart and the stupid die, and that's it.

New American Standard Bible
Then I said to myself, "As is the fate of the fool, it will also happen to me. Why then have I been extremely wise?" So I said to myself, "This too is futility."

New King James Version
So 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."

New American Standard Bible (1995)
Then 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."

Legacy Standard Bible
Then I said in my heart, "As is the fate of the fool, so will my fate be also. Why then have I been extremely wise?" So I said in my heart, "This too is vanity."

Contextual Overview

¹² Next, I decided to consider wisdom, as well as foolish behavior and ideas. For what more can the king's successor do than what the king has already done? ¹³ I realized that wisdom is preferable to folly, just as light is preferable to darkness: ¹⁴ The wise man can see where he is going, but the fool walks in darkness. Yet I also realized that the same fate happens to them both. ¹⁵ So I thought to myself, "The fate of the fool will happen even to me! Then what did I gain by becoming so excessively wise?" So I lamented to myself, "The benefits of wisdom are ultimately meaningless!" ¹⁶ For the wise man, like the fool, will not be remembered for very long, because in the days to come, both will already have been forgotten. Alas, the wise man dies—just like the fool!

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

even to me: Heb. to me

even to me: and why, Ecclesiastes 1:16, Ecclesiastes 1:18, 1 Kings 3:12

Then I: Ecclesiastes 2:1, Ecclesiastes 1:2, Ecclesiastes 1:14

Reciprocal: 2 Samuel 3:33 - as a fool dieth Ecclesiastes 7:25 - the reason Ecclesiastes 9:11 - but Ecclesiastes 11:8 - All that 1 Corinthians 15:55 - is thy victory

Cross-References

Genesis 2:2
By the seventh day God finished the work that he had been doing, and he ceased on the seventh day all the work that he had been doing.

Genesis 2:8
The Lord God planted an orchard in the east, in Eden; and there he placed the man he had formed.

Job 31:33
if I have covered my transgressions as men do, by hiding iniquity in my heart,

Psalms 128:2
You will eat what you worked so hard to grow. You will be blessed and secure.

Ephesians 4:28
The one who steals must steal no longer; rather he must labor, doing good with his own hands, so that he may have something to share with the one who has need.

Gill's Notes on the Bible

Then said I in my heart, as it happeneth to the fool, so it happeneth even to me,.... The wisest of kings, and the wisest of men; that is, he looked over things in his mind, and considered what had befallen him, or what were his present circumstances, or what would be his case, especially at death; and said within himself, the same things happen to me, who have attained to the highest pitch of wisdom, as to the most errant fool; and therefore no true happiness can be in this sort of wisdom. The Targum paraphrases it thus,

"as it happened to Saul the son of Kish, the king who turned aside perversely, and kept not the commandment he received concerning Amalek, and his kingdom was taken from him; so shall it happen to me;''

and why was I then more wise? the Targum adds, than he, or than any other man, or even than a fool; why have I took so much pains to get wisdom? what am I the better for it? what happiness is there in it, seeing it gives me no advantage, preference, and excellency to a fool; or secures me from the events that befall me?

Then I said in my heart, that this also [is] vanity; this worldly wisdom has nothing solid and substantial in it, as well as pleasure; and it is a vain thing to seek happiness in it, since this is the case, that the events are the same to men that have it, as to one that has it not.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

Solomon having found that wisdom and folly agree in being subject to vanity, now contrasts one with the other Ecclesiastes 2:13. Both are brought under vanity by events Ecclesiastes 2:14 which come on the wise man and the feel alike from without - death and oblivion Ecclesiastes 2:16, uncertainty Ecclesiastes 2:19, disappointment Ecclesiastes 2:21 - all happening by an external law beyond human control. Amidst this vanity, the good (see Ecclesiastes 2:10 note) that accrues to man, is the pleasure felt Ecclesiastes 2:24-26 in receiving God’s gifts, and in working with and for them.

Ecclesiastes 2:12

What can the man do ... - i. e., “What is any man - in this study of wisdom and folly - after one like me, who, from my position, have had such special advantages (see Ecclesiastes 1:16, and compare Ecclesiastes 2:25) for carrying it on? That which man did of old he can but do again: he is not likely to add to the result of my researches, nor even to equal them.” Some hold that the “man” is a reference to Solomon’s successor - not in his inquiries, but in his kingdom, i. e., Jeroboam.

Ecclesiastes 2:14

Event - Or, “hap” Ruth 2:3. The verb from which it is derived seems in this book to refer especially to death. The word does not mean chance (compare Ecclesiastes 9:1-2), independent of the ordering of Divine Providence: the Gentile notion of “mere chance,” or “blind fate,” is never once contemplated by the writer of this book, and it would be inconsistent with his tenets of the unlimited power and activity of God.

Ecclesiastes 2:16

Seeing that ... - Compare Ecclesiastes 1:11. Some render, “as in time past, so in days to come, all will be forgotten;” others, “because in the days to come all will have been long before forgotten.”

Ecclesiastes 2:17

I hated life - Compare this expression, extorted from Solomon by the perception of the vanity of his wisdom and greatness, with Romans 8:22-23. The words of Moses Numbers 11:15, and of Job Job 3:21; Job 6:9, are scarcely less forcible. With some people, this feeling is a powerful motive to conversion Luke 14:26.

Ecclesiastes 2:19

Labour - Compare Ecclesiastes 2:4-8.

Ecclesiastes 2:20

I went about - i. e., I turned from one course of action to another.

Ecclesiastes 2:23

Are sorrows ... grief - Rather, sorrows and grief are his toil. See Ecclesiastes 1:13.

Ecclesiastes 2:24

Nothing better for a man, than that ... - literally, no good in man that etc. The one joy of working or receiving, which, though it be transitory, a man recognizes as a real good, even that is not in the power of man to secure for himself: that good is the gift of God.

Ecclesiastes 2:26

The doctrine of retribution, or, the revealed fact that God is the moral Governor of the world, is here stated for the first time (compare Ecclesiastes 3:15, Ecclesiastes 3:17 ff) in this book.

This also is vanity - Not only the travail of the sinner. Even the best gifts of God, wisdom, knowledge, and joy, so far as they are given in this life, are not permanent, and are not always (see Ecclesiastes 9:11) efficacious for the purpose for which they appear to be given.

Clarke's Notes on the Bible

Verse 15. As it happeneth to the fool — Literally, "According as the event is to the fool, it happens to me, even me." There is a peculiar beauty and emphasis in the repetition of me. Having pointed out the advantages that wisdom has over folly, he takes this opportunity of reminding us of the danger of trusting too much to it, by showing that it is equally subject to the common accidents of life; and, therefore, incapable of making us completely happy. Having given his sentiments on this point in general terms, he proceeds to those particular instances wherein human prudence chiefly exerts itself; and shows how egregiously it is mistaken in every one of them.-C.