NASB
"There was a small city with few men in it and a great king came to it, surrounded it and constructed large siegeworks against it."
— Ecclesiastes 9:14, NASB
“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 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 again saw under the sun that the race is not to the swift and the battle is not to the warriors, and neither is bread to the wise nor wealth to the discerning nor favor to men of ability; for time and chance overtake them all.
Moreover, man does not know his time: like fish caught in a treacherous net and birds trapped in a snare, so the sons of men are ensnared at an evil time when it suddenly falls on them.
Also this I came to see as wisdom under the sun, and it impressed me.
There was a small city with few men in it and a great king came to it, surrounded it and constructed large siegeworks against it.
But there was found in it a poor wise man and he delivered the city by his wisdom. Yet no one remembered that poor man.
So I said, "Wisdom is better than strength." But the wisdom of the poor man is despised and his words are not heeded.
The words of the wise heard in quietness are better than the shouting of a ruler among fools.