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Ecclesiastes 9:15-17
New Catholic Bible
Ecclesiastes 9:15-17
New Catholic Bible
15 In the town there lived a man who, though poor, was wise, and by his wisdom he delivered the town. Yet no one remembered this poor man afterward. 16 Therefore, I said, “Wisdom is better than power.” Yet the poor man’s wisdom is despised, and his words go unheeded.
A Wise Man in the City of Fools[a]
17 The quiet words of the wise are more to be heeded
than the shouts of a ruler of fools.
Footnotes
- Ecclesiastes 9:17 Qoheleth inserts some sayings and illustrations on the subject of chance. Merit means nothing in the face of chance (Eccl 9:11-12), and many things succeed or fail because of trivial causes (Eccl 9:13—10:20); hence risk is an essential part of life (Eccl 11:1-6).
