Ecclesiastes 2:12–14
12 And I turned myself to behold wisdom, and bmadness, and cfolly: for what can the man do that cometh ccafter the king? ||deven that which hath been ealready done. 13 Then I saw †that wisdom excelleth cfolly, as far as light aexcelleth darkness. 14 fThe wise man’s eyes are in his head; but the fool walketh in darkness: and I myself perceived also gthat hone event happeneth to them all.
Ecclesiastes 2:12–14 — The New International Version (NIV)
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.
Ecclesiastes 2:12–14 — English Standard Version (ESV)
12 So I turned to consider wisdom and madness and folly. For what can the man do who comes after the king? Only what has already been done. 13 Then I saw that there is more gain in wisdom than in folly, as there is more gain in light than in darkness. 14 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.
Ecclesiastes 2:12–14 — New Living Translation (NLT)
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.
Ecclesiastes 2:12–14 — The New King James Version (NKJV)
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.
Ecclesiastes 2:12–14 — New Century Version (NCV)
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.
Ecclesiastes 2:12–14 — American Standard Version (ASV)
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.
Ecclesiastes 2:12–14 — 1890 Darby Bible (DARBY)
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.
Ecclesiastes 2:12–14 — GOD’S WORD Translation (GW)
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.
Ecclesiastes 2:12–14 — The Holman Christian Standard Bible (HCSB)
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.
Ecclesiastes 2:12–14 — The New Revised Standard Version (NRSV)
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.
Ecclesiastes 2:12–14 — The Lexham English Bible (LEB)
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.
Ecclesiastes 2:12–14 — New International Reader’s Version (1998) (NIrV)
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.
Ecclesiastes 2:12–14 — New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update (NASB95)
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.