And I said, “Wisdom is better than strength, but the wisdom of the poor man is despised, and his words are not heeded.”
Parallel translations
- WEB Then I said, “Wisdom is better than strength.” Nevertheless the poor man’s wisdom is despised, and his words are not heard.
- KJV Then said I, Wisdom is better than strength: nevertheless the poor man’s wisdom is despised, and his words are not heard.
- NKJV Then I said: “Wisdom is better than strength. Nevertheless the poor man’s wisdom is despised, And his words are not heard.
- NASB So I said, “Wisdom is better than strength.” But the wisdom of the poor man is despised, and his words are ignored.
- NLT So even though wisdom is better than strength, those who are wise will be despised if they are poor. What they say will not be appreciated for long.
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
The Preacher concludes that wisdom is better than strength, even though the poor man's wisdom is despised and unheeded. Wisdom's true value is not measured by the world's esteem.
Overview
Drawing the moral of the parable, Qoheleth affirms wisdom's superiority over brute strength while lamenting that the poor are often ignored. The lesson is that worth and recognition do not always align. It reflects the gospel pattern in which God's saving wisdom in Christ is rejected by many yet remains supremely powerful (1 Corinthians 1:18).
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 10
- Eccl 7:19Wisdom makes the wise man stronger than ten rulers in a city.
- Prov 24:5A wise man is strong, and a man of knowledge enhances his strength.
- Prov 21:22A wise man scales the city of the mighty and pulls down the stronghold in which they trust.
- Mark 6:2–3When the Sabbath came, He began to teach in the synagogue, and many who heard Him were astonished. “Where did this man get these ideas?” they asked. “What is this wisdom He has been given? And how can He perform such miracles?
- Jas 2:2–6Suppose a man comes into your meeting wearing a gold ring and fine clothes, and a poor man in shabby clothes also comes in.
- 1 Cor 1:26–29Brothers, consider the time of your calling: Not many of you were wise by human standards; not many were powerful; not many were of noble birth.
- Prov 10:15The wealth of the rich man is his fortified city, but poverty is the ruin of the poor.
- Eccl 9:18Wisdom is better than weapons of war, but one sinner destroys much good.
- John 7:47–49“Have you also been deceived?” replied the Pharisees.
- John 9:24–34So a second time they called for the man who had been blind and said, “Give glory to God! We know that this man is a sinner.”
Themes, concepts, people & topics
Resources, by level
Commentaries & study tools
Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.
Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.
Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.
Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.
The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).
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 9:16 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.