16And I said, 'Better is wisdom than might, and the wisdom of the poor is despised, and his words are not heard.' —


In Context

13 This also I have seen: wisdom under the sun, and it is great to me.

14 A little city, and few men in it, and a great king hath come unto it, and hath surrounded it, and hath built against it great bulwarks;

15 and there hath been found in it a poor wise man, and he hath delivered the city by his wisdom, and men have not remembered that poor man!

16 And I said, 'Better is wisdom than might, and the wisdom of the poor is despised, and his words are not heard.' —

17 The words of the wise in quiet are heard, More than the cry of a ruler over fools.

18 Better is wisdom than weapons of conflict, And one sinner destroyeth much good!

Ecclesiastes 9:16 in Other Translations

The King James Version of the Holy Bible

9:16Then said I, Wisdom [is] better than strength: nevertheless the poor man’s wisdom [is] despised, and his words are not heard.

The New International Version of the Holy Bible

9:16So I said, "Wisdom is better than strength." But the poor man's wisdom is despised, and his words are no longer heeded.

The Douay-Rheims Version of the Holy Bible

9:16And I said that wisdom is better than strength: how then is the wisdom of the poor man slighted, and his words not heard?

The American Standard Version of the Holy Bible

9:16Then said I, Wisdom is better than strength: nevertheless the poor man's wisdom is despised, and his words are not heard.

The Darby Bible Translation of the Holy Bible

9:16Then said I, Wisdom is better than strength; but the poor man's wisdom is despised, and his words are not heard.

The English Revised Version of the Holy Bible

9:16Then said I, Wisdom is better than strength: nevertheless the poor man's wisdom is despised, and his words are not heard.

The Webster Bible Translation of the Holy Bible

9:16Then said I, wisdom is better than strength: nevertheless the poor man's wisdom is despised, and his words are not heard.

The World English Bible Translation of the Holy Bible

9:16Then I said, |Wisdom is better than strength.| Nevertheless the poor man's wisdom is despised, and his words are not heard.

The American King James Version of the Holy Bible

9:16Then said I, Wisdom is better than strength: nevertheless the poor man's wisdom is despised, and his words are not heard.