Ecclesiastes 2:12-16

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Ecclesiastes 2:16

There is no remembrance - The wise and the fool are equally subject to death; and, in most instances, they are equally forgotten. Time sweeps away all remembrances, except the very few out of millions which are preserved for a while in the page of history. read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Ecclesiastes 2:12

And I turned myself to behold wisdom, and madness, and folly ( Ecclesiastes 1:17 ). He studied the three in their mutual connection and relation, comparing them in their results and effects on man's nature and life, and deducing thence their real value. On one side he set wisdom, on the other the action, and habits which he rightly terms "madness and folly," and examined them calmly and critically. For what can the man do that cometh after the king? even that which hath been already done ... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Ecclesiastes 2:12-26

Section 3. Vanity of wisdom, in view of the fate that awaits the wise man equally with the fool, and the uncertainty of the future of his labors, especially as man is not master of his own fate. read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Ecclesiastes 2:13

Then ( and ) I saw that wisdom excelleth folly, as far as light excelleth darkness; or, there is profit , advantage to wisdom over folly , as the advantage of light over darkness . This result, at any rate, was obtained—he learned that wisdom had a certain value, that it was as much superior to folly, in its effects on men, as light is more beneficial than darkness. It is a natural metaphor to represent spiritual and intellectual development as light, and mental and moral... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Ecclesiastes 2:14

The wise man's eyes are in his head; but the fool walketh 'in darkness. This clause is closely connected with the preceding verse, showing how wisdom excelleth folly. The wise man has the eyes of his heart or understanding enlightened ( Ephesians 1:18 ); he looks into the nature of things, fixes his regard on what is most important, sees where to go; while the fool's eyes are in the ends of the earth ( Proverbs 17:24 ); he walks on still in darkness, stumbling as he goes, knowing not... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Ecclesiastes 2:15

Then ( and ) said I in my heart ( Ecclesiastes 1:16 ), As it happeneth to the fool, so it happeneth even to me. He applies the general statement of Ecclesiastes 2:14 to his own case. The end that overtakes the fool will ere long overtake him; and he proceeds, Why was I then more wise? "Then" ( אז ), may be understood either logically, i . e . in this ease, since such is the fate of wise and foolish; or temporally, at the hour of death regarded as past. He puts the... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Ecclesiastes 2:16

For there is no remembrance of the wise more than of the fool forever ; Revised Version, more emphatically, for of the wise man , even as of the fool , there is no remembrance forever . This, of course, is not absolutely true. There are men whose names are history, and will endure as long as the world lasts; but speaking generally, oblivion is the portion of all; posterity soon forgets the wisdom of one and the folly of another. Where the belief in the future life was not a strong... read more

Albert Barnes

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible - Ecclesiastes 2:12-26

Solomon having found that wisdom and folly agree in being subject to vanity, now contrasts one with the other Ecclesiastes 2:13. Both are brought under vanity by events Ecclesiastes 2:14 which come on the wise man and the feel alike from without - death and oblivion Ecclesiastes 2:16, uncertainty Ecclesiastes 2:19, disappointment Ecclesiastes 2:21 - all happening by an external law beyond human control. Amidst this vanity, the good (see Ecclesiastes 2:10 note) that accrues to man, is the... read more

Joseph Benson

Joseph Benson's Commentary of the Old and New Testaments - Ecclesiastes 2:12

Ecclesiastes 2:12. And I turned myself, &c. Being frustrated of my hopes in pleasure, I returned to a second consideration of my first choice, to see whether there was not more satisfaction to be gotten from wisdom, than I discovered at my first view. For what can the man do To find out the truth in this matter; to discover the utmost satisfaction possible to be found in pleasure; that cometh after the king That succeeds me in this inquiry. So this is added as a reason why he gave... read more

Joseph Benson

Joseph Benson's Commentary of the Old and New Testaments - Ecclesiastes 2:13-14

Ecclesiastes 2:13-14. I saw that wisdom I allowed thus much. Although wisdom is not sufficient to make men happy, yet it is of far greater use than vain pleasures, or any other follies. The wise man’s eyes are in his head In their proper place. He hath the use of his eyes and reason, and foresees, and so avoids, many dangers and mischiefs. But the fool walketh in darkness Manages his affairs ignorantly, rashly, and foolishly, whereby he shows that his eyes are not in his head, or are... read more

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