Bible Strands
Ecclesiastes 9:16
And I said, “Wisdom is better than strength, but the wisdom of the poor man is despised, and his words are not heeded.”
Berean Standard Bible
Follow its threads on the canvas →
Study note
Setting — The narrator reflects on the poor wise man who recently saved a city, observing how social status distorts the community’s recognition of proven wisdom.
The words — The Hebrew בְּזוּיָה (be.zu.Yah) translates literally to "despised," directly describing the community’s dismissal of the poor man’s insight. The phrase חָכְמָה מִגְּבוּרָה (chokh.mah mi.gə.vu.Rah) asserts that wisdom is "better than strength," establishing the verse’s foundational comparison.
The thread — The tension between wisdom’s practical power and its social disregard echoes Ecclesiastes 7:19, Proverbs 24:5, and Proverbs 21:22, where wisdom consistently enhances or substitutes for physical might.
Why it lands — The text demands recognition that factual utility does not guarantee social authority, requiring the reader to separate measurable worth from institutional respect.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Hebrew words
King James Version
Then said I, Wisdom is better than strength: nevertheless the poor man’s wisdom is despised, and his words are not heard.
Cross-references
- Ecclesiastes 7:19 Wisdom makes the wise man stronger than ten rulers in a city.
- Proverbs 24:5 A wise man is strong, and a man of knowledge enhances his strength.
- Proverbs 21:22 A wise man scales the city of the mighty and pulls down the stronghold in which they trust.
- Mark 6:2 When the Sabbath came, He began to teach in the synagogue, and many who heard Him were astonished. “Where did this man get these ideas?” they asked. “What is this wisdom He has been given? And how can He perform such miracles?
- 1 Corinthians 1:26 Brothers, consider the time of your calling: Not many of you were wise by human standards; not many were powerful; not many were of noble birth.
- James 2:2 Suppose a man comes into your meeting wearing a gold ring and fine clothes, and a poor man in shabby clothes also comes in.
- Proverbs 10:15 The wealth of the rich man is his fortified city, but poverty is the ruin of the poor.
- Ecclesiastes 9:18 Wisdom is better than weapons of war, but one sinner destroys much good.
- John 7:47 “Have you also been deceived?” replied the Pharisees.
- John 9:24 So a second time they called for the man who had been blind and said, “Give glory to God! We know that this man is a sinner.”