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 whatcanthe mandothat 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 And whatsoever mine eyes desired I kept not from them, I withheld not my heart from any joy; for my heart rejoiced in all my labour: and this was my portion of all my labour.
11 Then I looked on all the works that my hands had wrought, and on the labour that I had laboured to do: and, behold, all was vanity and vexation of spirit, and there was no profit under the sun.
12 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.
13 Then I saw that wisdom excelleth folly, as far as light excelleth darkness.
14 The 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.
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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