Words of the wise, spoken quietly, should be heard Rather than the shout of a ruler of fools.
Parallel translations
- WEB The words of the wise heard in quiet are better than the cry of him who rules among fools.
- KJV The words of wise men are heard in quiet more than the cry of him that ruleth among fools.
- BSB The calm words of the wise are heeded over the shouts of a ruler among 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 peaceful, gentle, reasonable, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality, and without hypocrisy.
- Prov 28:23One who rebukes a man will afterward find more favor than one who flatters with the tongue.
- Jas 1:20for the anger of man doesn’t produce the righteousness of God.
- Isa 42:2He will not shout, nor raise his voice, nor cause it to be heard in the street.
- 1 Sam 7:3–6Samuel spoke to all the house of Israel, saying, “If you are returning to Yahweh with all your heart, then put away the foreign gods and the Ashtaroth from among you, and direct your hearts to Yahweh, and serve him only; and he will deliver you out of the hand of the Philistines.”
- Gen 41:33–40“Now therefore let Pharaoh look for a discreet and wise man, and set him over the land of Egypt.
- Isa 42:4He will not fail nor be discouraged, until he has set justice in the earth, and the islands will 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
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.