Ecclesiastes 9:13

Ecclesiastes 9:13 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)This wisdom have I seen also under the sun, and it seemed great unto me:
• New International Version (NIV)I also saw under the sun this example of wisdom that greatly impressed me:
• English Standard Version (ESV)I have also seen this example of wisdom under the sun, and it seemed great to me.
• New King James Version (NKJV)This wisdom I have also seen under the sun, and it seemed great to me:

Context of Ecclesiastes 9:13

11I have seen another thing that happens here on the earth. The runner who runs fastest does not always win the race. The strongest soldiers do not always win the battle. Very wise people do not always have food to eat. Very clever people do not always become rich. People who have learned many things are not always successful. Yes, anything may happen to anyone at any time. 12Nobody knows the time when trouble may come to them. A fish does not know when somebody will catch it in a net. A bird does not know when somebody will catch it in a trap. In the same way, terrible trouble suddenly happens to people when they do not expect it. I saw something else that happens on the earth. It is a good example of what wisdom is like. 14There was a small city and only a few people lived in it. A powerful king came to attack that city. His army made their camp around the city. They built heaps of earth all around it. 15There was a man who lived in the city. He was poor but he was also wise. Because he was wise, he knew how to save the city. But after he saved it, nobody remembered that poor man.

Ecclesiastes 9:13 word by word

גַּם־זֹ֛ה רָאִ֥יתִי חָכְמָ֖ה תַּ֣חַת הַשָּׁ֑מֶשׁ וּגְדוֹלָ֥ה הִ֖יא אֵלָֽי׃Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• Thisזֹהzôh · thisH2090
• wisdomחׇכְמָהchokmâh · wisdomH2451
• have I seenרָאָהrâ'âh · to see: seeH7200
• also under the sunשֶׁ֫מֶשׁshemesh · sunH8121
• greatגָּדוֹלgâdôl gâdôl · great: largeH1419

Cross-references for Ecclesiastes 9:13

• Ecclesiastes 6:1I have seen another terrible thing that happens on the earth. It causes people to have a lot of trouble.
• Ecclesiastes 7:15In my short life on the earth I have seen these things which have no purpose: Sometimes righteous people may die when they are still young. They did good things, but they died. And sometimes wicked people continue to live for along time. They did evil things, but they continued to live.
• Ecclesiastes 8:16I tried very much to become wise. I wanted to understand the things that people do on the earth. People work in the day and in the night and they do not sleep.

Commentaries on Ecclesiastes 9:13

• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 13Or, Also this have I seen - wisdom under the sun, and great it seemed to me. From this verse to the end of Ecclesiastes 10, the writer inculcates, in a series of proverbs, wisdom in contrast to folly, as the best remedy in the present life to the evil of vanity.Read the comment
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 13-18Verses 13-18 A man may, by his wisdom, bring to pass that which he could never do by his strength. If God be for us, who can be against us, or stand before us? Solomon observes the power of wisdom, though it may labour under outward disadvantages. How forcible are right words! But wise and good men must often content themselves with the satisfaction of having done good, or, at least, endeavoured to do it, when they cannot do the good they would, nor have…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 13-18This poor man's wise action was effective. Wisdom is better than power, strength, or weapons (see Ecclesiastes 4:13; 7:9, 19; 10:4). However, deserving people are not always honored, and even wise individuals are sometimes forgotten (see Ecclesiastes 2:16; 4:16).Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 1313. Rather, "I have seen wisdom of this kind also," that is, exhibited in the way which is described in what follows [Maurer].Read the comment

Topics related to Ecclesiastes 9:13

• Wisdom

In the dictionaries

• Event
• Evil
• Remember
• Reward
• Synagogue, the Great

Commentaries on Ecclesiastes 9

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
• Tyndale Open Study Notes
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
• Rashi on Tanakh
• Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
• John Wesley’s Notes
• Darby Translation Notes
• Geneva Bible Translation Notes
• Kingcomments
• Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
• Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
• Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
• Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
• EGW Writings