Ecclesiastes 2:15 BSB

Ecclesiastes 2:15

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

Parallel translations (2) ▾

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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Commentary

2 voices

John Gill

1697–1771

Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763)

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 record, by era

The Nineteenth Century1 voice

Adam Clarke

1762–1832

Commentary on the Bible (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.

Voices on this verse

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Original language & word study

18 tagged words

Original	Transliteration	Meaning	Word study
וְאָמַ֨רְתִּֽי	ve.'a.Mar.ti	and I said	H559 →
אֲנִ֜י	'a.Ni	I	H589 →
בְּלִבִּ֗י	be.li.Bi	in heart my	H3820 →
כְּמִקְרֵ֤ה	ke.mik.Reh	like [the] fate of	H4745 →
הַכְּסִיל֙	ha.ke.Sil	the fool	H3684 →
גַּם־	gam-	also	H1571 →
אֲנִ֣י	'a.Ni	me	H589 →
יִקְרֵ֔נִי	yik.Re.ni	it will happen to me	H7136 →
וְלָ֧מָּה	ve.La.mah	and <to> why?	H4100 →
חָכַ֛מְתִּי	cha.Kham.ti	have I become wise	H2449 →
אֲנִ֖י	'a.Ni	I	H589 →
אָ֣ז	'az	then	H227 →
יוֹתֵ֑ר	yo.Ter	excessively	H3148 →
וְדִבַּ֣רְתִּי	ve.di.Bar.ti	and I said	H1696 →
בְלִבִּ֔י	ve.li.Bi	in heart my	H3820 →
שֶׁגַּם־	she.gam-	that also	H1571 →
זֶ֖ה	zeh	this	H2088 →
הָֽבֶל׃	Ha.vel	[is] futility	H1892 →

Rare words are the text's own signal of a deliberate thread: the fewer the occurrences, the more the places it appears belong together.

The walk

The walk8

Where the connections lead

Follow this verse’s cross-references two steps out. Each card is a verse this one points to, and beneath it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several different paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it. Every stop shows its own words, and every stop is a page.

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.
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!”
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 independent 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

Featured studies on this passage

On Ecclesiastes 2:15

Vanity Under the Sun — Ecclesiastes

“As it happeneth to the fool, so will it happen even to me; and why was I then more wise?” : the first thing hevel touches is the very tool Qoheleth is using to investigate.

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Walks through Ecclesiastes 2

Ecclesiastes: the Study Guide

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About Ecclesiastes

King Solomon in Old Age — Gustave Doré, Doré's English Bible (1866), public domain

Ecclesiastes: the study guide →Read chapter 2 →The featured study →

Continue: Ecclesiastes 2 →

01Commentary

The record, by era

Voices on this verse

02Original language & word study

03The walk

Where the connections lead

04Related verses

05Featured studies on this passage

06About Ecclesiastes

The record, by era

Where the connections lead

Commentary

Original language & word study

The walk

Related verses

Featured studies on this passage

About Ecclesiastes