14 The wise person’s eyes are in his head, but the (A)fool walks in darkness. And yet I know that (B)one and the same fate happens to [a]both of them.

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Footnotes

  1. Ecclesiastes 2:14 Lit all of

14 The wise have eyes in their heads,
    while the fool walks in the darkness;
but I came to realize
    that the same fate overtakes them both.(A)

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16 For there is (A)no [a]lasting remembrance of the wise, along with the fool, since in the coming days everything will [b]soon be forgotten. And (B)how the wise and the fool alike die!

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Footnotes

  1. Ecclesiastes 2:16 Lit forever
  2. Ecclesiastes 2:16 Lit already

16 For the wise, like the fool, will not be long remembered;(A)
    the days have already come when both have been forgotten.(B)
Like the fool, the wise too must die!(C)

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19 (A)For the fate of the sons of mankind and the fate of animals [a]is the same. As one dies, so dies the other; indeed, they all have the same breath, and there is no advantage for mankind over animals, for all is futility. 20 All go to the same place. All came from the (B)dust and all return to the dust.

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Footnotes

  1. Ecclesiastes 3:19 Lit and they have one fate

19 Surely the fate of human beings(A) is like that of the animals; the same fate awaits them both: As one dies, so dies the other. All have the same breath[a]; humans have no advantage over animals. Everything is meaningless. 20 All go to the same place; all come from dust, and to dust all return.(B)

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Footnotes

  1. Ecclesiastes 3:19 Or spirit

Even if the man lives a thousand years twice, but does not see good things—(A)do not all go to one and the same place?”

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even if he lives a thousand years twice over but fails to enjoy his prosperity. Do not all go to the same place?(A)

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(A)It is the same for all. There is (B)one fate for the righteous and for the wicked; for the good, for the clean and the unclean; for the person who offers a sacrifice and for the one who does not sacrifice. As the good person is, so is the sinner; the one who swears an oath is just as the one who [a]is afraid to swear an oath. This is an evil in everything that is done under the sun, that there is (C)one fate for everyone. Furthermore, (D)the hearts of the sons of mankind are full of evil, and (E)insanity is in their hearts throughout their lives. Afterward they go to the dead.

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Footnotes

  1. Ecclesiastes 9:2 Lit fears an oath

All share a common destiny—the righteous and the wicked, the good and the bad,[a] the clean and the unclean, those who offer sacrifices and those who do not.

As it is with the good,
    so with the sinful;
as it is with those who take oaths,
    so with those who are afraid to take them.(A)

This is the evil in everything that happens under the sun: The same destiny overtakes all.(B) The hearts of people, moreover, are full of evil and there is madness in their hearts while they live,(C) and afterward they join the dead.(D)

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Footnotes

  1. Ecclesiastes 9:2 Septuagint (Aquila), Vulgate and Syriac; Hebrew does not have and the bad.