Bible verse
And I saw that wisdom exceeds folly, just as light exceeds darkness:
Ecclesiastes 2:13 · BSB
The verses around it, from Ecclesiastes 2.
9 So I became great and surpassed all in Jerusalem who had preceded me; and my wisdom remained with me.
10 Anything my eyes desired, I did not deny myself. I refused my heart no pleasure. For my heart took delight in all my work, and this was the reward for all my labor.
11 Yet when I considered all the works that my hands had accomplished and what I had toiled to achieve, I found everything to be futile, a pursuit of the wind; there was nothing to be gained under the sun.
12 Then I turned to consider wisdom and madness and folly; for what more can the king’s successor do than what has already been accomplished?
13 And I saw that wisdom exceeds folly, just as light exceeds darkness:
14 The wise man has eyes in his head, but the fool walks in darkness. Yet I also came to realize that one fate overcomes them both.
15 So I said to myself, “The fate of the fool will also befall me. What then have I gained by being wise?” And I said to myself that this too is futile.
16 For there is no lasting remembrance of the wise, just as with the fool, seeing that both will be forgotten in the days to come. Alas, the wise man will die just like the fool!
17 So I hated life, because the work that is done under the sun was grievous to me. For everything is futile and a pursuit of the wind.
KJV
Then I saw that wisdom excelleth folly, as far as light excelleth darkness.
ASV
Then I saw that wisdom excelleth folly, as far as light excelleth darkness.
ERV
Then I saw that wisdom excelleth folly, as far as light excelleth darkness.
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Scripture quotations are from the Berean Standard Bible, which is free of copyright restrictions for use on websites. Read the full Bible on Great Faith.