12 Then I turned my thoughts to consider wisdom,

and also madness and folly.

What more can the king’s successor do

than what has already been done?

13 I saw that wisdom is better than folly,

just as light is better than darkness.

14 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.

12 And I turned myself to behold wisdom, and madness, and folly: for what can the man do that cometh after the king? even that which hath been already done. 13 Then I saw that wisdom excelleth folly, as far as light excelleth darkness. 14 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.

12 So I decided to compare wisdom with foolishness and madness (for who can do this better than I, the king?). 13 I thought, “Wisdom is better than foolishness, just as light is better than darkness. 14 For the wise can see where they are going, but fools walk in the dark.” Yet I saw that the wise and the foolish share the same fate.

12 Then 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.

13 Then I saw that wisdom excels folly

As light excels darkness.

14 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.

12 Then I began to think again about being wise,

and also about being foolish and doing crazy things.

But after all, what more can anyone do?

He can’t do more than what the other king has already done.

13 I saw that being wise is certainly better than being foolish,

just as light is better than darkness.

14 Wise people see where they are going,

but fools walk around in the dark.

Yet I saw that

both wise and foolish people end the same way.

12 And I turned myself to behold wisdom, and madness, and folly: for what can the man do that cometh after the king? even that which hath been done long ago. 13 Then I saw that wisdom excelleth folly, as far as light excelleth darkness. 14 The wise man’s eyes are in his head, and the fool walketh in darkness: and yet I perceived that one event happeneth to them all.

12 And I turned myself to behold wisdom, and madness, and folly; for what shall the man do that cometh after the king? —that which hath already been done. 13 And I saw that wisdom excelleth folly, as light excelleth darkness. 14 The wise man’s eyes are in his head, and the fool walketh in darkness; but I myself also perceived that one event happeneth to them all.

12 Then I turned ⸤my attention⸥ to experience wisdom, madness, and foolishness. For instance, what can the man who replaces the king do? Only what has already been done. 13 But I saw that wisdom has an advantage over foolishness as light has an advantage over darkness. 14 A wise person uses the eyes in his head, but a fool walks in the dark. But I have also come to realize that the same destiny waits for both of them. 

12 Then I turned to consider wisdom, madness, and folly, for what will the man be like who comes after the king? He will do what has already been done. 13 And I realized that there is an advantage to wisdom over folly, like the advantage of light over darkness.

14 The wise man has eyes in his head,

but the fool walks in darkness.

Yet I also knew that one fate comes to them both.

12 So I turned to consider wisdom and madness and folly; for what can the one do who comes after the king? Only what has already been done. 13 Then I saw that wisdom excels folly as light excels darkness.

14 The wise have eyes in their head,

but fools walk in darkness.

Yet I perceived that the same fate befalls all of them.

12 Next, I considered wisdom, as well as delusion and folly. What can anyone do who will come after the king that has not already been done? 13 I realized that wisdom has an advantage over folly, just as light has an advantage over darkness. 14 The wise man can see where he is walking, but the fool walks in darkness. Yet I also realized that both of them suffer the same fate.

12 I decided to think about wisdom.

I also thought about foolish pleasure.

What more can a new king do?

Can he do anything more than others have already done?

13 I saw that wisdom is better than foolishness,

just as light is better than darkness.

14 The eyes of a wise man see things clearly.

A person who is foolish lives in darkness.

But I finally realized that death catches up

with both of them.

12 So I turned to consider wisdom, madness and folly; for what will the man do who will come after the king except what has already been done?

13 And I saw that wisdom excels folly as light excels darkness.

14 The wise man’s eyes are in his head, but the fool walks in darkness. And yet I know that one fate befalls them both.