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Ecclesiastes 9:16-18
New English Translation

16 So I concluded that wisdom is better than might,[a]
but a poor man’s wisdom is despised; no one ever listens[b] to his advice.[c]

Wisdom versus Fools, Sin, and Folly

17 The words of the wise are heard in quiet,
more than the shouting of a ruler is heard[d] among fools.
18 Wisdom is better than weapons of war,
but one sinner can destroy much that is good.

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Footnotes

  1. Ecclesiastes 9:16 tn Or “power.”
  2. Ecclesiastes 9:16 tn The participle form נִשְׁמָעִים (nishmaʿim, Niphal participle masculine plural from שָׁמַע, [shamaʿ] “to listen”) is used verbally to emphasize a continual, durative, gnomic action.
  3. Ecclesiastes 9:16 tn Heb “his words are never listened to.”
  4. Ecclesiastes 9:17 tn The phrase “is heard” does not appear in the Hebrew text, but is supplied in the translation for clarity and smoothness. Note its appearance in the previous line.
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