Ecclesiastes 2:15
Then said I in my heart, As it happeneth to the fool, so it happeneth even to me; and why was I then more wise? Then I said in my heart, that this also is vanity.
Cross-reference
In Ecclesiastes 2:1, Qoheleth begins testing pleasure; here he concludes that wisdom also yields vanity—both part of the same experiment.
In Ecclesiastes 1:2, 'vanity of vanities' is the book's theme; here Qoheleth directly echoes that verdict about the wise man's fate.
In Ecclesiastes 1:14, all is vanity and striving after wind; here the same conclusion is applied specifically to wisdom and folly.
In Ecclesiastes 9:11, time and chance apply to all—parallel to the wise and fool sharing the same fate, reinforcing wisdom's lack of advantage.
In Ecclesiastes 1:18, wisdom brings vexation and sorrow—parallel to the wise man's fate matching the fool's, rendering wisdom vain.
In Ecclesiastes 1:16, Qoheleth similarly reflects on his great wisdom, setting up the same introspective context as his conclusion about wisdom's futility here.
In 1 Corinthians 15:55, Paul declares death's victory overturned — opposite of Ecclesiastes' lament that death levels all without distinction.
1 Kings 3:12 records God granting Solomon unparalleled wisdom—the very gift Qoheleth here questions as ultimately futile alongside the fool's fate.