Ecclesiastes 9:10-16
New American Standard Bible
11I again saw under the sun that the race is not to the swift and the battle is not to the warriors, and neither is bread to the wise nor wealth to the discerning, nor favor to the skillful; for time and chance overtake them all.
12For indeed, a person does not know his time: like fish that are caught in a treacherous net and birds caught in a snare, so the sons of mankind are ensnared at an evil time when it suddenly falls on them.
13This too I saw as wisdom under the sun, and it impressed me:
14there was a small city with few men in it, and a great king came to it, surrounded it, and constructed large siegeworks against it.
15But there was found in it a poor wise man, and he saved the city by his wisdom. Yet no one remembered that poor man.
16So I said, 'Wisdom is better than strength.' But the wisdom of the poor man is despised, and his words are ignored.
King James Version
11I returned, and saw under the sun, that the race is not to the swift, nor the battle to the strong, neither yet bread to the wise, nor yet riches to men of understanding, nor yet favour to men of skill; but time and chance happeneth to them all.
12For man also knoweth not his time: as the fishes that are taken in an evil net, and as the birds that are caught in the snare; so are the sons of men snared in an evil time, when it falleth suddenly upon them.
13This wisdom have I seen also under the sun, and it seemed great unto me:
14There was a little city, and few men within it; and there came a great king against it, and besieged it, and built great bulwarks against it:
15Now there was found in it a poor wise man, and he by his wisdom delivered the city; yet no man remembered that same poor man.
16Then said I, Wisdom is better than strength: nevertheless the poor man's wisdom is despised, and his words are not heard.
Christian Standard Bible
11Again I saw under the sun that the race is not to the swift, or the battle to the strong, or bread to the wise, or riches to the discerning, or favor to the skillful; rather, time and chance happen to all of them.
12For certainly no one knows his time: like fish caught in a cruel net or like birds caught in a trap, so people are trapped in an evil time as it suddenly falls on them.
13I have observed that this also is wisdom under the sun, and it is significant to me:
14There was a small city with few men in it. A great king came against it, surrounded it, and built large siege works against it.
15Now a poor wise man was found in the city, and he delivered the city by his wisdom. Yet no one remembered that poor man.
16And I said, "Wisdom is better than strength, but the wisdom of the poor man is despised, and his words are not heeded."
New Living Translation
13Here is another bit of wisdom that has impressed me as I have watched the way our world works.
14There was a small town with only a few people, and a great king came with his army and besieged it.
15A poor, wise man knew how to save the town, and so it was rescued. But afterward no one thought to thank him.
16So even though wisdom is better than strength, those who are wise will be despised if they are poor. What they say will not be appreciated for long.
English Standard Version
11Again I saw that under the sun the race is not to the swift, nor the battle to the strong, nor bread to the wise, nor riches to the intelligent, nor favor to those with knowledge, but time and chance happen to them all.
12For man does not know his time. Like fish that are taken in an evil net, and like birds that are caught in a snare, so the children of man are snared at an evil time, when it suddenly falls upon them.
13I have also seen this example of wisdom under the sun, and it seemed great to me.
14There was a little city with few men in it, and a great king came against it and besieged it, building great siegeworks against it.
15But there was found in it a poor, wise man, and he by his wisdom delivered the city. Yet no one remembered that poor man.
16But I say that wisdom is better than might, though the poor man’s wisdom is despised and his words are not heard.
New International Version
13I also saw under the sun this example of wisdom that greatly impressed me:
14There was once a small city with only a few people in it. And a powerful king came against it, surrounded it and built huge siege works against it.
15Now there lived in that city a man poor but wise, and he saved the city by his wisdom. But nobody remembered that poor man.
16So I said, 'Wisdom is better than strength.' But the poor man's wisdom is despised, and his words are no longer heeded.
New King James Version
11I returned and saw under the sun that— The race is not to the swift, Nor the battle to the strong, Nor bread to the wise, Nor riches to men of understanding, Nor favor to men of skill; But time and chance happen to them all.
12For man also does not know his time: Like fish taken in a cruel net, Like birds caught in a snare, So the sons of men are snared in an evil time, When it falls suddenly upon them.
13This wisdom I have also seen under the sun, and it seemed great to me:
14There was a little city with few men in it; and a great king came against it, besieged it, and built great snares around it.
15Now there was found in it a poor wise man, and he by his wisdom delivered the city. Yet no one remembered that same poor man.