Ecclesiastes 2:16

Easy To Read Version

The wise man and the foolish person will both die! And people will not remember either the wise man or the foolish person forever. In the future, people will forget everything they did. So both the wise man and the foolish person are really the same.

Cross References

2 Samuel 3:33

King David sang this sad song at Abner’s funeral:

Psalm 103:16

God knows we are like a little wildflower.\par That flower grows quickly.\par Then the hot wind blows\par and the flower dies.\par Soon, you can’t even tell\par where the flower was growing.\par

Psalm 49:10

Look, wise people die\par the same as fools and stupid people. {\cf2\super [293]} \par They die and leave their wealth\par to other people.\par

Psalm 88:12

Dead people lying in darkness\par can’t see the amazing things you do.\par Dead people in the World of the Forgotten\par can’t talk about your goodness.\par

Exodus 1:6

Later, Joseph, his brothers, and all the people of that generation died.

Exodus 1:8

Then a new king began to rule Egypt. This king did not know Joseph.

Proverbs 14:8

Smart people are wise because they think carefully about the things they do. But foolish people are fools because they think they can live by cheating.

Ecclesiastes 1:11

People don’t remember the things that happened long ago. In the future, people will not remember what is happening now. And later, other people will not remember what those people before them did.

Ecclesiastes 2:14

It is like this: A wise man uses his mind like eyes to see where he is going. But a fool is like someone walking in the dark.

Ecclesiastes 2:15

I thought to myself, “The same thing that happens to a foolish person will also happen to me. So why have I tried so hard to become wise?” I said to myself, “Being wise is also useless.”

Ecclesiastes 6:8

In this way, a wise man is no better than a foolish person. It is better to be a poor man that knows how to accept life as it is.

Ecclesiastes 7:2

It is even better to go to a funeral\par than to a party.\par Why? Because all people must die,\par and every person alive\par should accept this.\par

Ecclesiastes 8:10

I also saw great and beautiful funerals for evil people. While the people were going home after the funeral services, they said good things about the evil people that had died. This happened even in the same towns where the evil people had done many, many bad things. That is senseless.

Ecclesiastes 9:15

But there was a wise man in that town. That wise man was poor, but he used his wisdom to save his town. After everything was finished, the people forgot about that poor man.

Ecclesiastes 9:5

Living people know that they will die. But dead people don’t know anything. Dead people have no more reward. People will soon forget them.

Malachi 3:16

God’s followers spoke with each other, and the Lord listened to them. There is a book in front of him. In that book are the names of God’s followers. Those are the people that honor the Lord’s name.

Hebrews 9:27

Every person must die once. After a person dies, he is judged.