Then said I, Wisdom is better than strength: nevertheless the poor man’s wisdom is despised, and his words are not heard.
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.
- BSB And I said, “Wisdom is better than strength, but the wisdom of the poor man is despised, and his words are not heeded.”
- 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 strengtheneth the wise more than ten mighty men which are in the city.
- Prov 24:5A wise man is strong; yea, a man of knowledge increaseth strength.
- Prov 21:22A wise man scaleth the city of the mighty, and casteth down the strength of the confidence thereof.
- Mark 6:2–3And when the sabbath day was come, he began to teach in the synagogue: and many hearing him were astonished, saying, From whence hath this man these things? and what wisdom is this which is given unto him, that even such mighty works are wrought by his hands?
- Jas 2:2–6For if there come unto your assembly a man with a gold ring, in goodly apparel, and there come in also a poor man in vile raiment;
- 1 Cor 1:26–29For ye see your calling, brethren, how that not many wise men after the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are called:
- Prov 10:15The rich man’s wealth is his strong city: the destruction of the poor is their poverty.
- Eccl 9:18Wisdom is better than weapons of war: but one sinner destroyeth much good.
- John 7:47–49Then answered them the Pharisees, Are ye also deceived?
- John 9:24–34Then again called they the man that was blind, and said unto him, Give God the praise: we know that this man is a sinner.
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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
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