Ecclesiastes 9:16 - New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition 2021

¹⁶ So I said, “Wisdom is better than might; yet the poor man’s wisdom is despised, and his words are not heeded.”

More versions

King James Version (Oxford) 1769

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

Amplified Bible - Classic Edition

¹⁶ But I say that wisdom is better than might, though the poor man's wisdom is despised and his words are not heeded.

American Standard Version (1901)

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

Common English Bible

¹⁶ So I thought, Wisdom is better than might, but the wisdom of commoners is despised and their words aren’t heeded.

Catholic Public Domain Version

¹⁶ And so, I declared that wisdom is better than strength. But how is it, then, that the wisdom of the poor man is treated with contempt, and his words are not heeded?

Douay-Rheims version of The Bible - 1752 version

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

Ecclesiastes 9:16 Cross References

Proverbs 10:15

The wealth of the rich is their fortress; the poverty of the poor is their ruin.

Proverbs 21:22

One wise person went up against a city of warriors and brought down the stronghold in which they trusted.

Proverbs 24:5

Wise warriors are mightier than strong ones and those who have knowledge than those who have strength,

Proverbs 8:14

I have good advice and sound wisdom; I have insight; I have strength.

Ecclesiastes 10:10

If the iron is blunt and one does not whet the edge, then more strength must be exerted, but wisdom helps one to succeed.

Ecclesiastes 7:12

For the protection of wisdom is like the protection of money, and the advantage of knowledge is that wisdom gives life to the one who possesses it.

Ecclesiastes 7:19

Wisdom gives strength to the wise more than ten rulers who are in a city.

Ecclesiastes 9:18

Wisdom is better than weapons of war, but one bungler destroys much good.