Wisdom is good with an inheritance, And profitable to those who see the sun.
Parallel translations
- WEB Wisdom is as good as an inheritance. Yes, it is more excellent for those who see the sun.
- KJV Wisdom is good with an inheritance: and by it there is profit to them that see the sun.
- BSB Wisdom, like an inheritance, is good, and it benefits those who see the sun.
- NASB Wisdom along with an inheritance is good, And an advantage to those who see the sun.
- NLT Wisdom is even better when you have money. Both are a benefit as you go through life.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
Wisdom is as good as an inheritance, indeed more excellent, for the living. It matters because wisdom is a treasure that profits us throughout life.
Overview
The Preacher esteems wisdom alongside, and even above, material inheritance for those 'who see the sun,' the living. Wisdom equips us to handle life well, surpassing mere wealth. This high valuation of wisdom prepares for the New Testament revelation that Christ is the wisdom of God (1 Corinthians 1:24,30), the truest inheritance of all who are in Him.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 7
- Eccl 11:7Truly the light is sweet, and a pleasant thing it is for the eyes to see the sun.
- 1 Tim 6:17–19Charge those who are rich in this present world that they not be haughty, nor have their hope set on the uncertainty of riches, but on the living God, who richly provides us with everything to enjoy;
- Prov 8:10–11Receive my instruction rather than silver; knowledge rather than choice gold.
- Eccl 2:13Then I saw that wisdom excels folly, as far as light excels darkness.
- 1 Kgs 3:6–9Solomon said, “You have shown to your servant David my father great loving kindness, because he walked before you in truth, in righteousness, and in uprightness of heart with you. You have kept for him this great loving kindness, that you have given him a son to sit on his throne, as it is today.
- Eccl 9:15–18Now a poor wise man was found in it, and he by his wisdom delivered the city; yet no man remembered that same poor man.
- Luke 16:8–9“His lord commended the dishonest manager because he had done wisely, for the children of this world are, in their own generation, wiser than the children of the light.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.
Christ at the center
The search that finds everything 'under the sun' to be vapor exposes the emptiness of life without God and drives us to the one who alone gives meaning, the resurrection that makes our labor not in vain.
How Ecclesiastes 7:11 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.