Bible in Basic English
There was a little town and the number of its men was small, and there came a great king against it and made an attack on it, building works of war round about it.
Now there was in the town a poor, wise man, and he, by his wisdom, kept the town safe. But no one had any memory of that same poor man.
Then I said, Wisdom is better than strength, but the poor man's wisdom is not respected, and his words are not given a hearing.
The words of the wise which come quietly to the ear are noted more than the cry of a ruler among the foolish.
Wisdom is better than instruments of war, but one sinner is the destruction of much good.
— Ecclesiastes 9:14-1964, Bible in Basic English
“There 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: Now 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. Then said I, Wisdom is better than strength: nevertheless the poor man’s wisdom is despised, and his words are not heard. The words of wise men are heard in quiet more than the cry of him that ruleth among fools. Wisdom is better than weapons of war: but one sinner destroyeth much good. ”
“There 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. Now 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. Then said I, Wisdom is better than strength: nevertheless the poor man’s wisdom is despised, and his words are not heard. The words of the wise heard in quiet are better than the cry of him that ruleth among fools. Wisdom is better than weapons of war; but one sinner destroyeth much good. ”
“There was a little city, and few men within it; and a great king came against it, besieged it, and built great bulwarks against it. Now a poor wise man was found in it, and he by his wisdom delivered the city; yet no man remembered that same poor man. Then I said, "Wisdom is better than strength." Nevertheless the poor man's wisdom is despised, and his words are not heard. The words of the wise heard in quiet are better than the cry of him who rules among fools. Wisdom is better than weapons of war; but one sinner destroys much good.”
“There was once a small city with a few men in it, and a mighty king attacked it, besieging it and building strong siege works against it. However, a poor but wise man lived in the city, and he could have delivered the city by his wisdom, but no one listened to that poor man. So I concluded that wisdom is better than might, but a poor man’s wisdom is despised; no one ever listens to his advice. Wisdom versus Fools, Sin, and Folly The words of the wise are heard in quiet, more than the shouting of a ruler is heard among fools. Wisdom is better than weapons of war, but one sinner can destroy much that is good.”
“A little city, and few men in it: there came against it a great king, and invested it, and built bulwarks round about it, and the siege was perfect. Now there was found in it a man poor and wise, and he delivered the city by his wisdom, and no man afterward remembered that poor man. And I said that wisdom is better than strength: how then is the wisdom of the poor man slighted, and his words not heard? The words of the wise are heard in silence, more than the cry of a prince among fools. Better is wisdom, than weapons of war: and he that shall offend in one, shall lose many good things. ”
“There 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: Now 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. Then said I, Wisdom is better than strength: nevertheless the poor man’s wisdom is despised, and his words are not heard. The words of wise men are heard in quiet more than the cry of him that ruleth among fools. Wisdom is better than weapons of war: but one sinner destroyeth much good. ”
And again I saw under the sun that the reward goes not to him who is quick, or the fruits of war to the strong; and there is no bread for the wise, or wealth for men of learning, or respect for those who have knowledge; but time and chance come to all.
Even man has no knowledge of his time; like fishes taken in an evil net, or like birds taken by deceit, are the sons of men taken in an evil time when it comes suddenly on them.
This again I have seen under the sun as wisdom and it seemed great to me.
There was a little town and the number of its men was small, and there came a great king against it and made an attack on it, building works of war round about it.
Now there was in the town a poor, wise man, and he, by his wisdom, kept the town safe. But no one had any memory of that same poor man.
Then I said, Wisdom is better than strength, but the poor man's wisdom is not respected, and his words are not given a hearing.
The words of the wise which come quietly to the ear are noted more than the cry of a ruler among the foolish.
Wisdom is better than instruments of war, but one sinner is the destruction of much good.