Ecclesiastes 2:13

Linguistic Bible Translation from Source Texts

I saw that wisdom is better than folly, just as light is better than darkness.

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Other Translations

Referenced Verses

  • Eccl 7:11-12 : 11 Wisdom is as good as an inheritance, and it is an advantage for those who see the light of day. 12 For wisdom, like money, is a shelter, but the advantage of knowledge is this: Wisdom preserves the life of its possessor.
  • Matt 6:23 : 23 But if your eye is unhealthy, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light within you is darkness, how great is that darkness!
  • Eph 5:8 : 8 For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light.
  • Luke 11:34-35 : 34 Your eye is the lamp of your body. When your eye is healthy, your whole body is full of light. But when it is unhealthy, your body is full of darkness. 35 See to it, then, that the light within you is not darkness.
  • Eccl 7:19 : 19 Wisdom makes a wise person stronger than ten rulers in a city.
  • Eccl 9:16 : 16 So I said, 'Wisdom is better than strength.' But the wisdom of the poor man is despised, and his words are not heeded.
  • Eccl 9:18 : 18 Wisdom is better than weapons of war, but one sinner destroys much good.
  • Eccl 11:7 : 7 Light is sweet, and it is pleasant for the eyes to see the sun.
  • Mal 3:18- : 18 Then you will again see the difference between the righteous and the wicked, between those who serve God and those who do not. 19 For behold, the day is coming, burning like a furnace, when all the arrogant and all the evildoers will be like stubble. The day that is coming will set them ablaze, says the Lord of Hosts, leaving them neither root nor branch. 20 But for you who revere my name, the sun of righteousness will rise with healing in its wings. You will go out and frolic like well-fed calves. 21 Then you will trample the wicked, for they will be ashes under the soles of your feet on the day I act, says the Lord of Hosts. 22 Remember the law of Moses, my servant, the statutes and ordinances I commanded him at Horeb for all Israel. 23 Behold, I am sending you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and awesome day of the LORD. 24 He will turn the hearts of the fathers to their children, and the hearts of the children to their fathers, lest I come and strike the land with total destruction.
  • Ps 119:105 : 105 Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.
  • Ps 119:130 : 130 The unfolding of Your words gives light; it imparts understanding to the simple.
  • Prov 4:5-7 : 5 Acquire wisdom; acquire understanding. Do not forget or turn away from the words of my mouth. 6 Do not abandon her, and she will guard you; love her, and she will protect you. 7 Wisdom is supreme—acquire wisdom. Though it costs you all you have, gain understanding.
  • Prov 4:18-19 : 18 The path of the righteous is like the morning light, shining brighter and brighter until the full day. 19 The way of the wicked is like deep darkness; they do not know what makes them stumble.
  • Prov 16:16 : 16 How much better to get wisdom than gold, to gain understanding rather than silver!

Similar Verses (AI)

These verses are found using AI-powered semantic similarity based on meaning and context. Results may occasionally include unexpected connections.

  • Eccl 2:14-17
    4 verses
    86%

    14The wise have eyes in their heads, but the fool walks in darkness. Yet I also realized that the same fate overtakes them both.

    15Then I said in my heart, 'What happens to the fool will also happen to me. So why have I been so very wise?' And I concluded in my heart, 'This too is meaningless.'

    16For the wise, like the fool, will not be remembered forever; in the days to come, everything will be forgotten. How does the wise person die? Just like the fool!

    17So I hated life, because the work done under the sun was grievous to me. For everything is meaningless, a chasing after the wind.

  • Eccl 2:11-12
    2 verses
    81%

    11Yet when I considered all that my hands had done and the toil I had expended in doing it, behold, everything was meaningless—a chasing after the wind. There was nothing to be gained under the sun.

    12So I turned my attention to consider wisdom, madness, and folly. For what can anyone do who comes after the king? Only what has already been done.

  • Eccl 1:16-18
    3 verses
    78%

    16I said to myself, 'Look, I have grown and increased in wisdom more than anyone who has ruled Jerusalem before me. I have experienced much wisdom and knowledge.'

    17Then I set my heart to understand wisdom, as well as madness and folly, but I learned that this too is a chasing after the wind.

    18For with much wisdom comes much sorrow; the more knowledge, the more grief.

  • Eccl 9:13
    78%

    13I also saw this example of wisdom under the sun, and it seemed great to me.

  • Eccl 7:25
    76%

    25I turned my mind to understand, to investigate, and to search out wisdom and the meaning of things, and to understand the stupidity of wickedness and the madness of folly.

  • Eccl 1:13-14
    2 verses
    76%

    13I set my heart to seek and explore by wisdom all that is done under the heavens. What a burdensome task God has given to the human race to occupy themselves with!

    14I have seen all the deeds that are done under the sun; they are all meaningless, a chasing after the wind.

  • Eccl 2:1-3
    3 verses
    75%

    1I said to myself, 'Come now, I will test you with pleasure to see what is good.' But behold, this too was meaningless.

    2I said of laughter, 'It is madness,' and of joy, 'What does it accomplish?'

    3I explored with my heart how to cheer my body with wine, while my mind guided me with wisdom, and how to embrace folly until I could see what is good for people to do under the heavens during the few days of their lives.

  • Eccl 7:11
    75%

    11Wisdom is as good as an inheritance, and it is an advantage for those who see the light of day.

  • Eccl 8:16-17
    2 verses
    75%

    16When I applied my heart to know wisdom and to observe the work that is done on earth, even though people do not see sleep with their eyes day or night,

    17then I saw all the work of God, that no one can understand the work that is done under the sun. Despite all their efforts to search it out, no one can comprehend it. Even if the wise claim to know, they cannot truly understand it.

  • Eccl 2:19-21
    3 verses
    74%

    19And who knows whether that person will be wise or foolish? Yet they will rule over all the fruit of my labor that I have worked for under the sun. This too is meaningless.

    20So I turned my heart to despair over all the hard work with which I had labored under the sun.

    21For there is a person who labors with wisdom, knowledge, and skill, but then must leave everything to someone who has not worked for it. This too is meaningless and a great misfortune.

  • Eccl 2:9
    74%

    9I became great and surpassed all who were before me in Jerusalem, and my wisdom stayed with me.

  • Eccl 6:8-9
    2 verses
    74%

    8What advantage has the wise person over the fool? What does the poor person gain by knowing how to conduct themselves before the living?

    9Better is what the eyes see than the wandering of desire. This too is meaningless and a chasing after the wind.

  • Prov 15:21
    74%

    21Foolishness brings joy to one lacking sense, but a person of understanding walks a straight path.

  • Eccl 4:3
    73%

    3But better than both is the one who has not yet been born, who has not seen the evil deeds that are done under the sun.

  • Prov 17:24
    73%

    24Wisdom is before the face of the discerning, but the eyes of a fool are on the ends of the earth.

  • Eccl 9:16-17
    2 verses
    73%

    16So I said, 'Wisdom is better than strength.' But the wisdom of the poor man is despised, and his words are not heeded.

    17The quiet words of the wise are more to be heeded than the shouts of a ruler among fools.

  • Prov 14:8
    72%

    8The wisdom of the prudent is to understand their path, but the folly of fools is deceit.

  • Eccl 7:23
    72%

    23All this I tested by wisdom and said, 'I will be wise,' but it was beyond me.

  • Eccl 2:25-26
    2 verses
    72%

    25For who can eat or who can enjoy life apart from Him?

    26To the person who pleases Him, God gives wisdom, knowledge, and joy, but to the sinner, He gives the task of gathering and storing wealth to hand it over to the one who pleases God. This too is meaningless, a chasing after the wind.

  • Prov 14:33
    72%

    33Wisdom rests in the heart of the discerning, but it becomes known even among fools.

  • Eccl 3:16
    72%

    16And I saw under the sun, in the place of judgment, wickedness was there, and in the place of righteousness, wickedness was there as well.

  • Job 31:26
    72%

    26if I have looked at the sun when it shined, or the moon moving in splendor,

  • Eccl 11:7-8
    2 verses
    72%

    7Light is sweet, and it is pleasant for the eyes to see the sun.

    8For if a person lives many years, let him rejoice in all of them, but let him remember the days of darkness, for they will be many. All that comes is meaningless.

  • Prov 14:24
    72%

    24The wealth of the wise is their crown, but the folly of fools yields only folly.

  • Eccl 4:7
    71%

    7Again, I turned and saw meaninglessness under the sun.

  • Prov 8:11-12
    2 verses
    71%

    11For wisdom is more precious than rubies, and nothing you desire can compare with her.

    12I, wisdom, dwell with prudence, and I possess knowledge and discretion.

  • Eccl 10:2-3
    2 verses
    71%

    2A wise person's heart inclines him to the right, but a fool's heart inclines him to the left.

    3Even while walking along the road, the fool lacks sense and shows everyone how foolish he is.

  • Eccl 4:13
    71%

    13Better a poor but wise youth than an old but foolish king who no longer knows how to heed a warning.

  • Eccl 7:4
    71%

    4The heart of the wise is in the house of mourning, but the heart of fools is in the house of pleasure.

  • Eccl 6:11
    71%

    11The more words, the more meaningless—and what advantage does that bring to anyone?

  • Prov 16:16
    71%

    16How much better to get wisdom than gold, to gain understanding rather than silver!

  • Job 29:3
    71%

    3when His lamp shone upon my head, and I walked by His light through the darkness.