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.
Parallel translations
- WEB For of the wise man, even as of the fool, there is no memory for ever, since in the days to come all will have been long forgotten. Indeed, the wise man must die just like the fool!
- 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!
- NKJV For there is no more remembrance of the wise than of the fool forever, Since all that now is will be forgotten in the days to come. And how does a wise man die? As the fool!
- NASB For there is no lasting remembrance of the wise, along with the fool, since in the coming days everything will soon be forgotten. And how the wise and the fool alike die!
- NLT For the wise and the foolish both die. The wise will not be remembered any longer than the fool. In the days to come, both will be forgotten.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
Neither wise nor fool is long remembered, for both die and are forgotten. Death and oblivion erase the earthly distinction between them.
Overview
Qoheleth grieves that the wise gain no lasting memorial, since they too die and fade from memory like the fool. This sharpens the futility of seeking immortality through reputation. Against this bleak prospect, Scripture offers the comfort that those in Christ are remembered eternally by God and raised to imperishable life.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 12
- Eccl 1:11There is no remembrance of former things; neither shall there be any remembrance of things that are to come with those that shall come after.
- Eccl 9:5For the living know that they shall die: but the dead know not any thing, neither have they any more a reward; for the memory of them is forgotten.
- Heb 9:27And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment:
- Ps 88:12Shall thy wonders be known in the dark? and thy righteousness in the land of forgetfulness?
- Exod 1:8Now there arose up a new king over Egypt, which knew not Joseph.
- Mal 3:16Then they that feared the LORD spake often one to another: and the LORD hearkened, and heard it, and a book of remembrance was written before him for them that feared the LORD, and that thought upon his name.
- Ps 49:10For he seeth that wise men die, likewise the fool and the brutish person perish, and leave their wealth to others.
- Eccl 6:8For what hath the wise more than the fool? what hath the poor, that knoweth to walk before the living?
- Ps 103:16For the wind passeth over it, and it is gone; and the place thereof shall know it no more.
- Exod 1:6And Joseph died, and all his brethren, and all that generation.
- Eccl 2:14The 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.
- 2 Sam 3:33And the king lamented over Abner, and said, Died Abner as a fool dieth?
Themes, concepts, people & topics
Resources, by level
Commentaries & study tools
Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.
Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.
Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.
Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.
The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).
Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.
Christ at the center
The search that finds everything 'under the sun' to be vapor exposes the emptiness of life without God and drives us to the one who alone gives meaning, the resurrection that makes our labor not in vain.
How Ecclesiastes 2:16 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.