Ecclesiastes 2:16

In 11 translations

BSB

For 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!

KJV

For there is no remembrance of the wise more than of the fool for ever; seeing that which now is in the days to come shall all be forgotten. And how dieth the wise man? as the fool.

WEB

For of the wise man, even as of the fool, there is no memory forever, since in the days to come all will have been long forgotten. Indeed, the wise man must die just like the fool!

ASV

For of the wise man, even as of the fool, there is no remembrance for ever; seeing that in the days to come all will have been long forgotten. And how doth the wise man die even as the fool!

LSV

That there is no remembrance to the wise—with the fool—for all time, for that which [is] already, [in] the days that are coming is all forgotten, and how dies the wise? With the fool!

YLT

That there is no remembrance to the wise — with the fool — to the age, for that which [is] already, [in] the days that are coming is all forgotten, and how dieth the wise? with the fool!

DBY

For there shall be no remembrance of the wise more than of the fool for ever; because everything is already forgotten in the days which come. And how dieth the wise even as the fool?

DRC

For there shall be no remembrance of the wise no more than of the fool for ever, and the times to come shall cover all things together with oblivion: the learned dieth in like manner as the unlearned.

GNV

For there shalbe no remembrance of the wise, nor of the foole for euer: for that that now is, in the dayes to come shall all be forgotten. And howe dyeth the wise man, as doeth the foole?

JPS

For of the wise man, even as of the fool, there is no remembrance for ever; seeing that in the days to come all will long ago have been forgotten. And how must the wise man die even as the fool!

LXXE

For there is no remembrance of the wise man with the fool for ever; forasmuch as now in the coming days all things are forgotten: and how shall the wise man die with the fool?

Word by word Hebrew · tap a word

Words in brackets are English the glossers added; the Hebrew has no word for them, and they can carry a choice of tense or meaning.

Original-language editions

WLC

כִּי֩ אֵ֨ין זִכְר֧וֹן לֶחָכָ֛ם עִֽם־הַכְּסִ֖יל לְעוֹלָ֑ם בְּשֶׁכְּבָ֞ר הַיָּמִ֤ים הַבָּאִים֙ הַכֹּ֣ל נִשְׁכָּ֔ח וְאֵ֛יךְ יָמ֥וּת הֶחָכָ֖ם עִֽם־הַכְּסִֽיל׃

LXX-Br

Ὅτι οὐκ ἔστιν ἡ μνήμη τοῦ σοφοῦ μετὰ τοῦ ἄφρονος εἰς τὸν αἰῶνα, καθότι ἤδη αἱ ἡμέραι ἐρχόμεναι τὰ πάντα ἐπελήσθη· καὶ πῶς ἀποθανεῖται ὁ σοφὸς μετὰ τοῦ ἄφρονος;

In the reference works topics that cite this verse

From public-domain Bible dictionaries and topical indexes (1884–1915).

Cross-references most cited first

• Ecclesiastes 1:11There is no remembrance of those who came before, and those yet to come will not be remembered by those who follow after.
• Ecclesiastes 9:5For the living know that they will die, but the dead know nothing. They have no further reward, because the memory of them is forgotten.
• Exodus 1:8Then a new king, who did not know Joseph, came to power in Egypt.
• Psalms 88:12Will Your wonders be known in the darkness, or Your righteousness in the land of oblivion?
• Malachi 3:16At that time those who feared the LORD spoke with one another, and the LORD listened and heard them. So a scroll of remembrance was written before Him regarding those who feared the LORD and honored His name.
• Hebrews 9:27Just as man is appointed to die once, and after that to face judgment,
• 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?
• 2 Samuel 3:33And the king sang this lament for Abner: “Should Abner die the death of a fool?
• Exodus 1:6Now Joseph and all his brothers and all that generation died,
• 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 103:16when the wind passes over, it vanishes, and its place remembers it no more.
• Ecclesiastes 2:14The 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.

From the OpenBible.info cross-reference set (votes from readers; not every link is a quotation or allusion).