The Meaning of Ecclesiastes 2:16 Explained

Ecclesiastes 2:16

KJV: For there is no remembrance of the wise more than of the fool for ever; seeing that which now is in the days to come shall all be forgotten. And how dieth the wise man? as the fool.

YLT: That there is no remembrance to the wise -- with the fool -- to the age, for that which is already, in the days that are coming is all forgotten, and how dieth the wise? with the fool!

Darby: For there shall be no remembrance of the wise more than of the fool for ever; because everything is already forgotten in the days which come. And how dieth the wise even as the fool?

ASV: For of the wise man, even as of the fool, there is no remembrance for ever; seeing that in the days to come all will have been long forgotten. And how doth the wise man die even as the fool!

KJV Reverse Interlinear

For [there is] no remembrance  of the wise  more than  of the fool  for ever;  seeing that which now  [is] in the days  to come  shall all be forgotten.  And how dieth  the wise  [man]? as the fool. 

What does Ecclesiastes 2:16 Mean?

Context Summary

Ecclesiastes 2:1-17 - 24-26, Vain Undertakings
At the beginning of his search for happiness Solomon erected a splendid home and planned all kinds of delights of an artistic and sensuous nature. There were gardens, pools of crystal water, fruit trees, meadows filled with cattle, regal splendor, musicians who poured into the palace their sweet melodies. He went further, adding to architecture and art his intellectual pursuits. But when he had gone to the furthest limit, he turned from it all, with the old gnawing at his heart-Vanity of vanities!
A few days before the death of the great Cardinal Mazarin, he was heard by a friend to utter something of the same sad refrain. "I was walking," says this friend, "in one of the apartments of the palace, when I recognized the approach of the Cardinal by the sound of his slippered feet, which he dragged one after the other as a man suffering from a mortal malady. I concealed myself behind the tapestry and heard him say, as he looked at one picture and rare treasure after another, "˜I must leave all these.'" Let us, in the light of these things, ponder again those words of Christ in Luke 12:33. [source]

Chapter Summary: Ecclesiastes 2

1  the vanity of human courses is the work of pleasure
12  Though the wise be better than the fool, yet both have one event
18  The vanity of human labor, in leaving it they know not to whom
24  Nothing better than joy in our labor but that is God's gift

What do the individual words in Ecclesiastes 2:16 mean?

For [there is] no remembrance of the wise more than of the fool forever Since that now [is] in the days to come all will be forgotten And how does die a wise [man] as the fool
כִּי֩ אֵ֨ין זִכְר֧וֹן לֶחָכָ֛ם עִֽם־ הַכְּסִ֖יל לְעוֹלָ֑ם בְּשֶׁכְּבָ֞ר הַיָּמִ֤ים הַבָּאִים֙ הַכֹּ֣ל נִשְׁכָּ֔ח וְאֵ֛יךְ יָמ֥וּת הֶחָכָ֖ם עִֽם־ הַכְּסִֽיל

אֵ֨ין  [there  is]  no 
Parse: Adverb
Root: אַיִן 
Sense: nothing, not, nought n.
זִכְר֧וֹן  remembrance 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular construct
Root: זִכָּרֹון  
Sense: memorial, reminder, remembrance.
לֶחָכָ֛ם  of  the  wise 
Parse: Preposition-l, Article, Adjective, masculine singular
Root: חָכָם  
Sense: wise, wise (man).
עִֽם־  more  than 
Parse: Preposition
Root: עִם  
Sense: with.
הַכְּסִ֖יל  of  the  fool 
Parse: Article, Noun, masculine singular
Root: כְּסִיל  
Sense: fool, stupid fellow, dullard, simpleton, arrogant one.
לְעוֹלָ֑ם  forever 
Parse: Preposition-l, Noun, masculine singular
Root: עֹולָם  
Sense: long duration, antiquity, futurity, for ever, ever, everlasting, evermore, perpetual, old, ancient, world.
בְּשֶׁכְּבָ֞ר  Since  that  now  [is] 
Parse: Preposition-b, Pronoun, relative, Adverb
Root: כְּבָר  
Sense: already, long ago, a great while.
הַיָּמִ֤ים  in  the  days 
Parse: Article, Noun, masculine plural
Root: יׄום 
Sense: day, time, year.
הַבָּאִים֙  to  come 
Parse: Article, Verb, Qal, Participle, masculine plural
Root: בֹּוא 
Sense: to go in, enter, come, go, come in.
נִשְׁכָּ֔ח  will  be  forgotten 
Parse: Verb, Nifal, Perfect, third person masculine singular
Root: כָּשַׁח 
Sense: to forget, ignore, wither.
וְאֵ֛יךְ  And  how 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Interjection
Root: אֵיךְ 
Sense: how? interj.
יָמ֥וּת  does  die 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Imperfect, third person masculine singular
Root: מוּת  
Sense: to die, kill, have one executed.
הֶחָכָ֖ם  a  wise  [man] 
Parse: Article, Adjective, masculine singular
Root: חָכָם  
Sense: wise, wise (man).
הַכְּסִֽיל  the  fool 
Parse: Article, Noun, masculine singular
Root: כְּסִיל  
Sense: fool, stupid fellow, dullard, simpleton, arrogant one.