The words of wise men are heard in quiet more than the cry of him that ruleth among fools.
Parallel translations
- WEB The words of the wise heard in quiet are better than the cry of him who rules among fools.
- BSB The calm words of the wise are heeded over the shouts of a ruler among fools.
- NKJV Words of the wise, spoken quietly, should be heard Rather than the shout of a ruler of fools.
- NASB The words of the wise heard in calm are better than the shouting of a ruler among fools.
- NLT Better to hear the quiet words of a wise person than the shouts of a foolish king.
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 quiet words of the wise are better than the shouting of a ruler among fools. Calm wisdom carries more weight than loud authority.
Overview
Qoheleth contrasts the gentle, heeded counsel of the wise with the noisy commands of a fool in power. Substance outweighs volume. This commends the meek, measured speech that Scripture prizes and that Christ embodied, who did not cry aloud in the streets yet spoke with true authority (Proverbs 15:1; Matthew 12:19).
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 7
- Jas 3:17–18But the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, and easy to be intreated, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality, and without hypocrisy.
- Prov 28:23He that rebuketh a man afterwards shall find more favour than he that flattereth with the tongue.
- Jas 1:20For the wrath of man worketh not the righteousness of God.
- Isa 42:2He shall not cry, nor lift up, nor cause his voice to be heard in the street.
- 1 Sam 7:3–6And Samuel spake unto all the house of Israel, saying, If ye do return unto the LORD with all your hearts, then put away the strange gods and Ashtaroth from among you, and prepare your hearts unto the LORD, and serve him only: and he will deliver you out of the hand of the Philistines.
- Gen 41:33–40Now therefore let Pharaoh look out a man discreet and wise, and set him over the land of Egypt.
- Isa 42:4He shall not fail nor be discouraged, till he have set judgment in the earth: and the isles shall wait for his law.
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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 9:17 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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