English Standard Version
Ecclesiastes 9:13
13I have also seen this example of wisdom under the sun, and it seemed great to me.
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:
- New King James Version (NKJV)This wisdom I have also seen under the sun, and it seemed great to me:
- New Living Translation (NLT)Here is another bit of wisdom that has impressed me as I have watched the way our world works.
Context of Ecclesiastes 9:13
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. I 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.
Read all of Ecclesiastes 9Ecclesiastes 9:13 word by word
גַּם־זֹ֛ה רָאִ֥יתִי חָכְמָ֖ה תַּ֣חַת הַשָּׁ֑מֶשׁ וּגְדוֹלָ֥ה הִ֖יא אֵלָֽי׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
Cross-references for Ecclesiastes 9:13
- Ecclesiastes 6:1There is an evil that I have seen under the sun, and it lies heavy on mankind:
- Ecclesiastes 7:15In my vain life I have seen everything. There is a righteous man who perishes in his righteousness, and there is a wicked man who prolongs his life in his evildoing.
- Ecclesiastes 8:16When I applied my heart to know wisdom, and to see the business that is done on earth, how neither day nor night do one's eyes see 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
In the dictionaries
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
English Standard Version — © 2001 Crossway Bibles
Commentaries