Ecclesiastes 2:14-16 KJV

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 2:13-14

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

Joseph Benson

Joseph Benson's Commentary of the Old and New Testaments - Ecclesiastes 2:15-16

Ecclesiastes 2:15-16. Then I said why was I more wise What benefit have I by my wisdom? or, to what purpose did I take so much pains to get wisdom. For there is no remembrance of the wise Their memory, though it may flourish for a season, yet will, in a little time, be worn out; as we see in most of the wise men of former ages, whose very names, together with all their monuments, are utterly lost. As the fool He must die as certainly as the fool. read more

Donald C. Fleming

Bridgeway Bible Commentary - Ecclesiastes 2:1-26

Lessons from experience (1:12-2:26)Writing as Solomon, the author now looks back and describes the experiences of a truly wise and wealthy man who searched for a meaning to life. First he tried the study of wisdom, but it led only to misery and frustration. Some things could not be made to fit any sort of consistent pattern; others, which in theory may have solved some problems, in practice did not exist (12-15). His learning and experience enabled him to tell the difference between wisdom and... read more

E.W. Bullinger

E.W. Bullinger's Companion Bible Notes - Ecclesiastes 2:14

fool. Hebrew. kesil = fat, inert. Same word as in verses: Ecclesiastes 2:15 , Ecclesiastes 2:16 ; not the same word as in Ecclesiastes 2:19 . and I myself perceived = and I too knew: i.e. as well as they. event = a happening. Hebrew. mikreh. Said to be a later word, but it occurs in 1Sa 6:9 ; 1 Samuel 20:26 . Ruth 2:3 . See note on Ecclesiastes 2:8 . read more

E.W. Bullinger

E.W. Bullinger's Companion Bible Notes - Ecclesiastes 2:15

said I in my heart = spake with myself. to me. Hebrew "to me, even to me" (Emphatic). read more

E.W. Bullinger

E.W. Bullinger's Companion Bible Notes - Ecclesiastes 2:16

remembrance = memorial, as in Ecclesiastes 1:11 , Ecclesiastes 1:11 . of = for. for ever. See note on Ecclesiastes 1:4 . seeing that which now is = for, as in time past. as the fool. Compare Psalms 49:10 . 2 Samuel 3:33 . read more

Robert Jamieson; A. R. Fausset; David Brown

Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible - Ecclesiastes 2:15

15. why was I—so anxious to become, c. (2 Chronicles 1:10). 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; Jeremiah 8:9). read more

Robert Jamieson; A. R. Fausset; David Brown

Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible - Ecclesiastes 2:16

16. remembrance—a great aim of the worldly (Genesis 11:4). The righteous alone attain it (Psalms 112:6; Proverbs 10:7). for ever—no perpetual memorial. that which now is—MAURER, "In the days to come all things shall be now long ago forgotten." read more

The Pulpit Commentary - Ecclesiastes 2:16

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

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

Joseph Benson's Commentary of the Old and New Testaments - Ecclesiastes 2:15-16

Bridgeway Bible Commentary - Ecclesiastes 2:1-26

E.W. Bullinger's Companion Bible Notes - Ecclesiastes 2:14

E.W. Bullinger's Companion Bible Notes - Ecclesiastes 2:15

E.W. Bullinger's Companion Bible Notes - Ecclesiastes 2:16

Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible - Ecclesiastes 2:15

Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible - Ecclesiastes 2:16

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