American Standard Version
"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. "
— Ecclesiastes 9:14, American Standard Version
“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:”
“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.”
“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.”
“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.”
“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.”
“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:”
I 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 favor to men of skill; but time and chance happeneth to them all.
For 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, even so are the sons of men snared in an evil time, when it falleth suddenly upon them.
I have also seen wisdom under the sun on this wise, and it seemed great unto me:
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.