TEXT [Commentary]

black diamond   13.   Assessing wisdom (9:17-18)

17 Better to hear the quiet words of a wise person

than the shouts of a foolish king.

18 Better to have wisdom than weapons of war,

but one sinner can destroy much that is good.

NOTES

9:17 quiet. It is slightly unclear whether the verse refers to the quiet words of the wise or communicates that the words of the wise are best heard in quietness. The contrast, though, with the shouts of the foolish king in the second part of the verse strongly suggests that the NLT is right in adopting the first possibility.

9:18 sinner. The NLT (with the NIV, KJV, NASB) translates the participle that indicates the class of people who destroy much that is good in the moral sense as “sinner.” It is very possible, though, that the word is better understood in its non-moral sense as “someone who messes up” or “someone who makes a mistake,” destroying much that is useful. In any case, the basic point about the limited value of wisdom, explicated in the commentary below, still stands.

COMMENTARY [Text]

The chapter ends with two proverbs that underline the teaching of the anecdote that precedes them. Wisdom is better than folly; wisdom outstrips power. But in the end, even wisdom is no guarantee of success in life.

Qoheleth expresses this thought using one of his favorite forms—the “better than” proverb (or “better-proverb”; cf. Ogden 1977). This form is well-suited to express relative value—that is, how one thing is superior to another. The first proverb (9:17) pits the words of a wise person over against a fool and judges the wise person’s words as superior. Note that, as in the anecdote, the equation seems stacked in favor of the fool. The fool is a king; the wise person is not. Further, the king speaks forcefully—that is, he shouts—whereas the wise person speaks in a quiet voice. Nonetheless, the implicit message is that the quiet words of the wise person are much more valuable to listen to than the shouts of the foolish king.

The second proverb has an interesting twist. The first part is a “better than” proverb once again, which promotes wisdom over power—here represented by weapons of war. This was concretely illustrated in the anecdote in 9:13-16. However, the second part of the verse takes the carpet out from under both proverbs—one sinner can destroy much that is good. We have a modern proverb that says essentially the same thing: “One bad apple spoils the whole barrel.” The implicit message achieved by placing this line at the end is that no matter how much good or benefit can be achieved by the wise, it can all be undone by the presence of just a pinch of sin.