Ecclesiastes 2:12 — Bible Verse (KJV)
“And I turned myself to behold wisdom, and madness, and folly: for what can the man do that cometh after the king? even that which hath been already done.”
Ecclesiastes 2:12 — King James Version (KJV), 1611
Ecclesiastes 2:12 in 6 Bible Translations
Read Ecclesiastes 2:12 in the King James Version (KJV) and 5 other free, public-domain translations side by side.
Ecclesiastes 2:12 WEB — World English Bible (2000)
“I turned myself to consider wisdom, madness, and folly; for what can the king’s successor do? Just that which has been done long ago.”
Ecclesiastes 2:12 — World English Bible
Ecclesiastes 2:12 ASV — American Standard Version (1901)
“And I turned myself to behold wisdom, and madness, and folly: for what can the man do that cometh after the king? even that which hath been done long ago.”
Ecclesiastes 2:12 — American Standard Version
Ecclesiastes 2:12 YLT — Young's Literal Translation (1862)
“And I turned to see wisdom, and madness, and folly, but what <FI>is<Fi> the man who cometh after the king? that which <FI>is<Fi> already--they have done it!”
Ecclesiastes 2:12 — Young's Literal Translation
Ecclesiastes 2:12 DBY — Darby Translation (1890)
“And I turned myself to behold wisdom, and madness, and folly; for what shall the man [do] that cometh after the king? — that which hath already been done.”
Ecclesiastes 2:12 — Darby Translation
Ecclesiastes 2:12 GEN — Geneva Bible (1599)
“And I turned to beholde wisedome, and madnes and follie: (for who is the man that will come after the King in things, which men nowe haue done?)”
Ecclesiastes 2:12 — Geneva Bible
Ecclesiastes 2:12 in Context — Ecclesiastes 2
10 Tout ce que mes yeux avaient désiré, je ne les en ai point privés; je n’ai refusé à mon cœur aucune joie; car mon cœur prenait plaisir à tout mon travail, et c’est la part qui m’en est revenue.
11 Puis, j’ai considéré tous les ouvrages que mes mains avaient faits, et la peine que j’avais prise à les exécuter; et voici, tout est vanité et poursuite du vent, et il n’y a aucun avantage à tirer de ce qu’on fait sous le soleil.
12 Alors j’ai tourné mes regards vers la sagesse, et vers la sottise et la folie. Car que fera l’homme qui succédera au roi? Ce qu’on a déjà fait.
13 Et j’ai vu que la sagesse a de l’avantage sur la folie, comme la lumière a de l’avantage sur les ténèbres;
14 le sage a ses yeux à la tête, et l’insensé marche dans les ténèbres. Mais j’ai reconnu aussi qu’ils ont l’un et l’autre un même sort.
What Does Ecclesiastes 2:12 Mean?
Ecclesiastes 2:12 is a verse from the Book of Ecclesiastes, part of the Old Testament. It appears in Ecclesiastes chapter 2. Use The Living Sword's word-by-word study mode to explore every word in the original Hebrew and Aramaic.
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