God’s Word Translation
Ecclesiastes 4:13
13A young man who is poor and wise is better than an old, foolish king who won’t take advice any longer.
Ecclesiastes 4:13 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)Better is a poor and a wise child than an old and foolish king, who will no more be admonished.
- New International Version (NIV)Better a poor but wise youth than an old but foolish king who no longer knows how to heed a warning.
- English Standard Version (ESV)Better was a poor and wise youth than an old and foolish king who no longer knew how to take advice.
- New King James Version (NKJV)Better a poor and wise youth Than an old and foolish king who will be admonished no more.
Context of Ecclesiastes 4:13
11Again, if two people lie down together, they can keep warm, but how can one person keep warm? 12Though one person may be overpowered by another, two people can resist one opponent. A triple-braided rope is not easily broken. A young man who is poor and wise is better than an old, foolish king who won’t take advice any longer. 14A young man came out of prison to rule as king, even though he had been born in poverty in that same kingdom. 15I saw all living people moving about under the sun. They sided with the second young man, the king’s successor.
Read all of Ecclesiastes 4Ecclesiastes 4:13 word by word
ט֛וֹב יֶ֥לֶד מִסְכֵּ֖ן וְחָכָ֑ם מִמֶּ֤לֶךְ זָקֵן֙ וּכְסִ֔יל אֲשֶׁ֛ר לֹא־יָדַ֥ע לְהִזָּהֵ֖ר עֽוֹד׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
Cross-references for Ecclesiastes 4:13
- Ecclesiastes 9:15A poor, wise person was found in that town. He saved the town using his wisdom. But no one remembered that poor person.
- Genesis 37:2This is the account of Jacob and his descendants. Joseph was a seventeen-year-old young man. He took care of the flocks with the sons of Bilhah and Zilpah, his father’s wives. Joseph told his father about the bad things his brothers were doing.
- Proverbs 19:1Better to be a poor person who lives innocently than to be one who talks dishonestly and is a fool.
- Proverbs 28:6Better to be a poor person who has integrity than to be rich and double-dealing.
- 1 Kings 22:8The king of Israel told Jehoshaphat, “We can ask the Lord through Micaiah, son of Imlah, but I hate him. He doesn’t prophesy anything good about me, only evil.” Jehoshaphat answered, “The king must not say that.”
- 2 Chronicles 16:9The Lord’s eyes scan the whole world to find those whose hearts are committed to him and to strengthen them. You acted foolishly in this matter. So from now on, you will have to fight wars.”
- 2 Chronicles 24:20God’s Spirit gave Zechariah, son of the priest Jehoiada, strength. Zechariah stood in front of the people and said to them, “This is what God says: Why are you breaking the Lord’s commands? You won’t prosper that way! The Lord has abandoned you because you have abandoned him.”
- 2 Chronicles 25:16As he was talking, the king asked him, “Did we make you an adviser to the king? Stop! Do you want me to have you killed?” The prophet stopped. He said, “I know that God has decided to destroy you because you did this, but you refuse to listen to my advice.”
Commentaries on Ecclesiastes 4:13
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 13Better is a poor and a wise child - The Targum applies this to Abraham. "Abraham was a poor child of only three years of age; but he had the spirit of prophecy, and he refused to worship the idols which the old foolish king - Nimrod - had set up; therefore Nimrod cast him into a furnace of fire. But the Lord worked a miracle and delivered him. Yet here was no knowledge in Nimrod, and he would not be admonished." The Targum proceeds:Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 13-16Verses 13-16 These verses set forth the vanity of earthly prosperity even on a throne. Opinion as to their application is chiefly divided between considering them a parable or fiction like that of the childless man in Ecclesiastes 4:8: or as setting forth first the vicissitudes of royal life in two proverbial sayings Ecclesiastes 4:13-14, and then Ecclesiastes 4:15-16, the vicissitudes or procession of the whole human race, one generation giving place to…Read the comment
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 13-16Verses 13-16 People are never long easy and satisfied; they are fond of changes. This is no new thing. Princes see themselves slighted by those they have studied to oblige; this is vanity and vexation of spirit. But the willing servants of the Lord Jesus, our King, rejoice in him alone, and they will love Him more and more to all eternity.Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 13-14Better is a...wise youth: Wisdom is valuable because it helps in real-life situations.Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 1313. The "threefold cord" [Ec 4:12] of social ties suggests the subject of civil government. In this case too, he concludes that kingly power confers no lasting happiness. The "wise" child, though a supposed case of Solomon, answers, in the event foreseen by the Holy Ghost, to Jeroboam, then a poor but valiant youth, once a "servant" of Solomon, and (1Ki 11:26-40) appointed by God through the prophet Ahijah to be heir of the kingdom of the ten tribes about…Read the comment
Topics related to Ecclesiastes 4:13
In the dictionaries
Commentaries on Ecclesiastes 4
- 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
- Original Douay–Rheims Annotations
- Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
- EGW Writings
God’s Word Translation — © 1995 God’s Word to the Nations Bible Society
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