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Ecclesiastes 2:15

in Ecclesiastes 2

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.

BSB

The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾

ASV

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.

KJV

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.

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This verse in Ecclesiastes 2

Commentary

8 notes on this verse
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.

This site's exposition

The fate of the fool will also befall me

on Ecclesiastes 2:15-17

The finding turns personal, The fate of the fool will also befall me, and the king's advantage falls under the same death. The Teacher's own word for the discovery is So I hated life, because the work that is done under the sun was grievous to me.

The record, by era

The Church Fathers1 voice

A commentator

Jerome

Commentary on Ecclesiastes · Written before 420.

proposed

"So I said to myself: the fate of the fool will befall me also; to what advantage then have I become wise? But I concluded that this, too, was vanity. For there is no comparison between the remembrance of the wise and of the fool at all, for as the succeeding days roll by, is all forgotten? How can the wise man's death be like the fool's?

The Medieval Church1 voice

A commentator

Bonaventure

Commentary on Ecclesiastes, Chapter 2 · Written in the 13th century.

proposed

And on account of this equality he despised wisdom; therefore he says: "And I said in my heart: if one and the same downfall shall befall both the fool and me, what does it profit me that I have devoted greater effort to wisdom?" as …

The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices

A commentator

Matthew Henry

1662–1714

Commentary on the Whole Bible (1710)

proposed

He enquires how far the business and wealth of this world will go towards making men happy, and concludes, from his own experience, that, to those who set their hearts upon it, "it is vanity and vexation of spirit," (

quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — unbalanced-parens

A commentator

Matthew Henry

1662–1714

Commentary on the Whole Bible (1710)

proposed

), that though he was a wise man, he might not glory in his wisdom; I said to my heart, when it began to be proud or secure, As it happens to the fool, so it happens to me, even to me; for thus emphatically it is expressed in the original: "So, as for me, it happens to me. So is many a Nabal that fares as sumptuously as I do.

quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — leading-punctuation+unbalanced-parens+odd-straight-quotes

The Nineteenth Century1 voice

A commentator

Adam Clarke

1762–1832

Commentary on the Bible · Written before 1832.

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.
1 more voice on this verse

The Nineteenth Century1 voice

A commentator

Jamieson, Fausset & Brown

1802–1910

Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)

proposed

why was I--so anxious to become, &c. Then--Since such is the case. this--namely, pursuit of (worldly) wisdom; it can never fill the place of the true wisdom (Job 28:28;

quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — starts-lowercase+unbalanced-parens

The words behind it

18 Hebrew words

Every Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.

  • וְאָמַ֨רְתִּֽיand I said

    veamartiH559 →5305 times

  • אֲנִ֜יI

    ʾaniH589 →874 times

  • בְּלִבִּ֗יin heart my

    belibiH3820 →595 times

  • כְּמִקְרֵ֤הlike [the] fate of

    kemikrehH4745 →10 times

  • הַכְּסִיל֙the fool

    hakesilH3684 →70 times

  • גַּם־also

    gam-H1571 →769 times

  • אֲנִ֣יme

    ʾaniH589 →874 times

  • יִקְרֵ֔נִיit will happen to me

    yikreniH7136 →27 times

  • וְלָ֧מָּהand <to> why?

    velamahH4100 →752 times

  • חָכַ֛מְתִּיhave I become wise

    chakhamtiH2449 →27 times

  • אֲנִ֖יI

    ʾaniH589 →874 times

  • אָ֣זthen

    ʾazH227 →

  • יוֹתֵ֑רexcessively

    yoterH3148 →9 times

  • וְדִבַּ֣רְתִּיand I said

    vedibartiH1696 →1141 times

  • בְלִבִּ֔יin heart my

    velibiH3820 →595 times

  • שֶׁגַּם־that also

    shegam-H1571 →769 times

  • זֶ֖הthis

    zehH2088 →1180 times

  • הָֽבֶל׃[is] futility

    havelH1892 →73 times

A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.

Related verses

10 in all, six open

The number beside each verse is how many compiled reference works tie it to this one. The strongest six stand open.

Ecclesiastes 1:18For with much wisdom comes much sorrow, and as knowledge grows, grief increases.8 worksEcclesiastes 6:8What advantage, then, has the wise man over the fool? What gain comes to the poor man who knows how to conduct himself before others?5 worksEcclesiastes 1:14I have seen all the things that are done under the sun, and have found them all to be futile, a pursuit of the wind.3 worksEcclesiastes 1:2“Futility of futilities,” says the Teacher, “futility of futilities! Everything is futile!”3 worksEcclesiastes 1:16I said to myself, “Behold, I have grown and increased in wisdom beyond all those before me who were over Jerusalem, and my mind has observed a wealth of wisdom and knowledge.”2 works1 Kings 3:12behold, I will do what you have asked. I will give you a wise and discerning heart, so that there has never been nor will ever be another like you.2 works
The other 4 cross-references, with their words ▾
Ecclesiastes 2:16For there is no lasting remembrance of the wise, just as with the fool, seeing that both will be forgotten in the days to come. Alas, the wise man will die just like the fool!2 worksEcclesiastes 11:8So if a man lives many years, let him rejoice in them all. But let him remember the days of darkness, for they will be many. Everything to come is futile.2 worksEcclesiastes 2:1I said to myself, “Come now, I will test you with pleasure; enjoy what is good!” But it proved to be futile.2 worksEcclesiastes 7:25I directed my mind to understand, to explore, to search out wisdom and explanations, and to understand the stupidity of wickedness and the folly of madness.2 works

The walk

8 stops

Each card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.

  • Through

    1 Kings 3:12

    behold, I will do what you have asked. I will give you a wise and discerning heart, so that there has never been nor will ever be another like you.

    it leads to

    • 1 John 5:14–15

      And this is the confidence that we have before Him: If we ask anything according to His will, He hears us.

    • Ecclesiastes 1:16

      I said to myself, “Behold, I have grown and increased in wisdom beyond all those before me who were over Jerusalem, and my mind has observed a wealth of wisdom and knowledge.”

    • Matthew 12:42

      The Queen of the South will rise at the judgment with this generation and condemn it; for she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon, and now One…

    • 1 Kings 5:12

      And the LORD gave Solomon wisdom, as He had promised him. There was peace between Hiram and Solomon, and the two of them made a treaty.

    • 1 Kings 10:23–24

      So King Solomon surpassed all the kings of the earth in riches and wisdom.

  • Through

    Ecclesiastes 1:2

    “Futility of futilities,” says the Teacher, “futility of futilities! Everything is futile!”

    it leads to

    • Psalms 39:5–6

      You, indeed, have made my days as handbreadths, and my lifetime as nothing before You. Truly each man at his best exists as but a breath. Selah

      Reached by 2 separate paths from here.

    • Psalms 144:4

      Man is like a breath; his days are like a passing shadow.

    • Romans 8:20

      For the creation was subjected to futility, not by its own will, but because of the One who subjected it, in hope

Where this verse is studied

About Ecclesiastes

King Solomon in Old Age, Gustave Doré, 1866. Public domain.
King Solomon in Old Age, Gustave Doré, 1866. Public domain.
Ecclesiastes: the study guide →Read Ecclesiastes 2 →

This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Bonaventure, Commentary on Ecclesiastes, Chapter 2; Charles Bridges, An Exposition of the Book of Ecclesiastes; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; Jerome, Commentary on Ecclesiastes; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.

Read on in Ecclesiastes 2 →