Ecclesiastes 2:14
BSB · Public Domain (CC0)“The wise man has eyes in his head, but the fool walks in darkness. Yet I also came to realize that one fate overcomes them both.”
A short, plain-language explanation of Ecclesiastes 2:14 goes here — the kind of answer a reader (or an AI assistant) can quote in one breath. Original meaning coming soon.
“The wise man has eyes in his head, but the fool walks in darkness. Yet I also came to realize that one fate overcomes them both.”
Berean Standard Bible · Public Domain (CC0)“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.”
King James Version · Public Domain“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.”
American Standard Version · Public Domain“The wise! --his eyes <FI>are<Fi> in his head, and the fool in darkness is walking, and I also knew that one event happeneth with them all;”
Young's Literal Translation · Public DomainOther passages that echo Ecclesiastes 2:14 — 17 related verses from the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge.
- Psalms 19:10They are more precious than gold, than much pure gold; they are sweeter than honey, than honey from the comb.
- Psalms 49:10For it is clear that wise men die, and the foolish and the senseless both perish and leave their wealth to others.
- Psalms 49:11Their graves are their eternal homes— their dwellings for endless generations— even though their lands were their namesakes.
- Proverbs 14:8The wisdom of the prudent is to discern his way, but the folly of fools deceives them.
- Proverbs 17:24Wisdom is the focus of the discerning, but the eyes of a fool wander to the ends of the earth.
- Ecclesiastes 3:19For the fates of both men and beasts are the same: As one dies, so dies the other—they all have the same breath. Man has no advantage over the animals, since everything is futile.
- Ecclesiastes 6:6even if he lives a thousand years twice over but fails to enjoy his prosperity. Do not all go to the same place?
- Ecclesiastes 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?
- Ecclesiastes 7:2It is better to enter a house of mourning than a house of feasting, since death is the end of every man, and the living should take this to heart.
- Ecclesiastes 8:1Who is like the wise man? Who knows the interpretation of a matter? A man’s wisdom brightens his face, and the sternness of his face is changed.
- Ecclesiastes 9:1So I took all this to heart and concluded that the righteous and the wise, as well as their deeds, are in God’s hands. Man does not know what lies ahead, whether love or hate.
- Ecclesiastes 9:2It is the same for all: There is a common fate for the righteous and the wicked, for the good and the bad, for the clean and the unclean, for the one who sacrifices and the one who does not. As it is for the good, so it is for the sinner; as it is for the one who makes a vow, so it is for the one who refuses to take a vow.
- Ecclesiastes 9:3This is an evil in everything that is done under the sun: There is one fate for everyone. Furthermore, the hearts of men are full of evil and madness while they are alive, and afterward they join the dead.
- Ecclesiastes 9:11I saw something else under the sun: The race is not to the swift, nor the battle to the strong; neither is the bread to the wise, nor the wealth to the intelligent, nor the favor to the skillful. For time and chance happen to all.
- Ecclesiastes 9:16And I said, “Wisdom is better than strength, but the wisdom of the poor man is despised, and his words are not heeded.”
- Ecclesiastes 10:2A wise man’s heart inclines to the right, but the heart of a fool to the left.
- 1 John 2:11But whoever hates his brother is in the darkness and walks in the darkness. He does not know where he is going, because the darkness has blinded his eyes.
Cross-reference data: Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (public domain) via OpenBible.info (CC BY 4.0).