Ecclesiastes 2:13

NET Bible® (New English Translation)

I realized that wisdom is preferable to folly, just as light is preferable to darkness:

Additional Resources

Referenced Verses

  • Eccl 7:11-12 : 11 Wisdom Can Lengthen One’s Life Wisdom, like an inheritance, is a good thing; it benefits those who see the light of day. 12 For wisdom provides protection, just as money provides protection. But the advantage of knowledge is this: Wisdom preserves the life of its owner.
  • Matt 6:23 : 23 But if your eye is diseased, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light in you is darkness, how great is the darkness!
  • Eph 5:8 : 8 for you were at one time darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Live like 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 diseased, your body is full of darkness. 35 Therefore see to it that the light in you is not darkness.
  • Eccl 7:19 : 19 Wisdom Needed Because No One is Truly Righteous Wisdom gives a wise person more protection than ten rulers in a city.
  • Eccl 9:16 : 16 So I concluded that wisdom is better than might, but a poor man’s wisdom is despised; no one ever listens to his advice.
  • Eccl 9:18 : 18 Wisdom is better than weapons of war, but one sinner can destroy much that is good.
  • Eccl 11:7 : 7 Life Should Be Enjoyed Because Death is Inevitable Light is sweet, and it is pleasant for a person to see the sun.
  • Mal 3:18-4:2 : 18 Then once more you will see that I make a distinction between the righteous and the wicked, between the one who serves God and the one who does not. 1 (3:19)“For indeed the day is coming, burning like a furnace, and all the arrogant evildoers will be chaff. The coming day will burn them up,” says the LORD of Heaven’s Armies.“It will not leave them even a root or branch. 2 But for you who respect my name, the sun of vindication will rise with healing wings, and you will skip about like calves released from the stall.
  • Ps 119:105 : 105 נ(Nun) Your word is a lamp to walk by, and a light to illumine my path.
  • Ps 119:130 : 130 Your instructions are a doorway through which light shines. They give insight to the untrained.
  • Prov 4:5-7 : 5 Acquire wisdom, acquire understanding; do not forget and do not turn aside from the words I speak. 6 Do not forsake wisdom, and she will protect you; love her, and she will guard you. 7 Wisdom is supreme– so acquire wisdom, and whatever you acquire, acquire understanding!
  • Prov 4:18-19 : 18 But the path of the righteous is like the bright morning light, growing brighter and brighter until full day. 19 The way of the wicked is like gloomy darkness; they do not know what they stumble over.
  • Prov 16:16 : 16 How much better it is to acquire wisdom than gold; to acquire understanding is more desirable 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 man can see where he is going, but the fool walks in darkness. Yet I also realized that the same fate happens to them both.

    15So I thought to myself,“The fate of the fool will happen even to me! Then what did I gain by becoming so excessively wise?” So I lamented to myself,“The benefits of wisdom are ultimately meaningless!”

    16For the wise man, like the fool, will not be remembered for very long, because in the days to come, both will already have been forgotten. Alas, the wise man dies– just like the fool!

    17So I loathed life because what happens on earth seems awful to me; for all the benefits of wisdom are futile– like chasing the wind.

  • Eccl 2:11-12
    2 verses
    81%

    11Yet when I reflected on everything I had accomplished and on all the effort that I had expended to accomplish it, I concluded:“All these achievements and possessions are ultimately profitless– like chasing the wind! There is nothing gained from them on earth.”

    12Wisdom is Better than Folly Next, I decided to consider wisdom, as well as foolish behavior and ideas. For what more can the king’s successor do than what the king has already done?

  • Eccl 1:16-18
    3 verses
    78%

    16Futility of Secular Wisdom I thought to myself,“I have become much wiser than any of my predecessors who ruled over Jerusalem; I have acquired much wisdom and knowledge.”

    17So I decided to discern the benefit of wisdom and knowledge over foolish behavior and ideas; however, I concluded that even this endeavor is like trying to chase the wind!

    18For with great wisdom comes great frustration; whoever increases his knowledge merely increases his heartache.

  • Eccl 9:13
    78%

    13Most People Are Not Receptive to Wise Counsel This is what I also observed about wisdom on earth, and it is a great burden to me:

  • Eccl 7:25
    76%

    25True Righteousness and Wisdom Are Virtually Nonexistent I tried to understand, examine, and comprehend the role of wisdom in the scheme of things, and to understand the stupidity of wickedness and the insanity of folly.

  • Eccl 1:13-14
    2 verses
    76%

    13I decided to carefully and thoroughly examine all that has been accomplished on earth. I concluded: God has given people a burdensome task that keeps them occupied.

    14I reflected on everything that is accomplished by man on earth, and I concluded: Everything he has accomplished is futile– like chasing the wind!

  • Eccl 2:1-3
    3 verses
    75%

    1Futility of Self-Indulgent Pleasure I thought to myself,“Come now, I will try self-indulgent pleasure to see if it is worthwhile.” But I found that it also is futile.

    2I said of partying,“It is folly,” and of self-indulgent pleasure,“It accomplishes nothing!”

    3I thought deeply about the effects of indulging myself with wine(all the while my mind was guiding me with wisdom) and the effects of behaving foolishly, so that I might discover what is profitable for people to do on earth during the few days of their lives.

  • Eccl 7:11
    75%

    11Wisdom Can Lengthen One’s Life Wisdom, like an inheritance, is a good thing; it benefits those who see the light of day.

  • Eccl 8:16-17
    2 verses
    75%

    16Limitations of Human Wisdom When I tried to gain wisdom and to observe the activity on earth– even though it prevents anyone from sleeping day or night–

    17then I discerned all that God has done: No one really comprehends what happens on earth. Despite all human efforts to discover it, no one can ever grasp it. Even if a wise person claimed that he understood, he would not really comprehend it.

  • Eccl 2:19-21
    3 verses
    74%

    19Who knows if he will be a wise man or a fool? Yet he will be master over all the fruit of my labor for which I worked so wisely on earth! This also is futile!

    20So I began to despair about all the fruit of my labor for which I worked so hard on earth.

    21For a man may do his work with wisdom, knowledge, and skill; however, he must hand over the fruit of his labor as an inheritance to someone else who did not work for it. This also is futile, and an awful injustice!

  • Eccl 2:9
    74%

    9So I was far wealthier than all my predecessors in Jerusalem, yet I maintained my objectivity:

  • Eccl 6:8-9
    2 verses
    74%

    8So what advantage does a wise man have over a fool? And what advantage does a pauper gain by knowing how to survive?

    9It is better to be content with what the eyes can see than for one’s heart always to crave more. This continual longing is futile– like chasing the wind.

  • Prov 15:21
    74%

    21Folly is a joy to one who lacks sense, but one who has understanding follows an upright course.

  • Eccl 4:3
    73%

    3But better than both is the one who has not been born and has not seen the evil things that are done on earth.

  • Prov 17:24
    73%

    24Wisdom is directly in front of the discerning person, but the eyes of a fool run to the ends of the earth.

  • Eccl 9:16-17
    2 verses
    73%

    16So I concluded that wisdom is better than might, but a poor man’s wisdom is despised; no one ever listens to his advice.

    17Wisdom versus Fools, Sin, and Folly The words of the wise are heard in quiet, more than the shouting of a ruler is heard among fools.

  • Prov 14:8
    72%

    8The wisdom of the shrewd person is to discern his way, but the folly of fools is deception.

  • Eccl 7:23
    72%

    23Human Wisdom is Limited I have examined all this by wisdom; I said,“I am determined to comprehend this”– but it was beyond my grasp.

  • Eccl 2:25-26
    2 verses
    72%

    25For no one can eat and drink or experience joy apart from him.

    26For to the one who pleases him, God gives wisdom, knowledge, and joy, but to the sinner, he gives the task of amassing wealth– only to give it to the one who pleases God. This task of the wicked is futile– like chasing the wind!

  • Prov 14:33
    72%

    33Wisdom rests in the heart of the discerning; it is not known in the inner parts of fools.

  • Eccl 3:16
    72%

    16The Problem of Injustice and Oppression I saw something else on earth: In the place of justice, there was wickedness, and in the place of fairness, there was wickedness.

  • Job 31:26
    72%

    26if I looked at the sun when it was shining, and the moon advancing as a precious thing,

  • Eccl 11:7-8
    2 verses
    72%

    7Life Should Be Enjoyed Because Death is Inevitable Light is sweet, and it is pleasant for a person to see the sun.

    8So, if a man lives many years, let him rejoice in them all, but let him remember that the days of darkness will be many– all that is about to come is obscure.

  • Prov 14:24
    72%

    24The crown of the wise is their riches, but the folly of fools is folly.

  • Eccl 4:7
    71%

    7Labor Motivated by Greed So I again considered another futile thing on earth:

  • Prov 8:11-12
    2 verses
    71%

    11For wisdom is better than rubies, and desirable things cannot be compared to her.

    12“I, wisdom, have dwelt with prudence, and I find knowledge and discretion.

  • Eccl 10:2-3
    2 verses
    71%

    2Wisdom Can Be Nullified By the Caprice of Rulers A wise person’s good sense protects him, but a fool’s lack of sense leaves him vulnerable.

    3Even when a fool walks along the road he lacks sense, and shows everyone what a fool he is.

  • Eccl 4:13
    71%

    13Labor Motivated by Prestige-Seeking A poor but wise youth is better than an old and foolish king who no longer knows how to receive advice.

  • 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 merrymaking.

  • Eccl 6:11
    71%

    11The more one argues with words, the less he accomplishes. How does that benefit him?

  • Prov 16:16
    71%

    16How much better it is to acquire wisdom than gold; to acquire understanding is more desirable than silver.

  • Job 29:3
    71%

    3when he caused his lamp to shine upon my head, and by his light I walked through darkness;