Ecclesiastes 2:12-17
New Catholic Bible
The Wise Man Must Die No Less than the Fool
12 Then my reflections focused on wisdom
as well as madness and folly,
and I came to the realization that whoever succeeds a king can do nothing,
since everything has already been done.
13 I also came to understand that more is to be gained from wisdom than from folly,[a]
just as light is more profitable than darkness.
14 The wise keep their eyes open,
whereas fools walk in darkness.
And yet at the same time I realized
that the same fate befalls them both.
15 Then I thought to myself,
“If the fate of the fool will also be my fate,
then why have I been wise?
In what way do I profit?”
And I came to the conclusion
that this too is vanity.
16 The wise man is remembered no longer than the fool,
because in the days to come both will have been forgotten.
The wise man must die no less than the fool.
17 As a result, I came to hate life,
since I loathe the work that is done under the sun;
for all is vanity and a chase after the wind.
Footnotes
- Ecclesiastes 2:13 More is to be gained from wisdom than from folly: it is better to be wise, just as to walk in light is better than walking in darkness. However, as far as death is concerned, both the wise believer and the foolish unbeliever meet the same fate (see Ps 49:11).
