Ecclesiastes 9:15-18

9:15 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.

9:16 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

9:17 The words of the wise are heard in quiet,

more than the shouting of a ruler is heard among fools.

9:18 Wisdom is better than weapons of war,

but one sinner can destroy much that is good.

Ecclesiastes 9:2

9:2 Everyone shares the same fate –

the righteous and the wicked,

the good and the bad,

the ceremonially clean and unclean,

those who offer sacrifices and those who do not.

What happens to the good person, also happens to the sinner;

what happens to those who make vows, also happens to those who are afraid to make vows.

Ecclesiastes 1:16

Futility of Secular Wisdom

1:16 I thought to myself,

“I have become much wiser than any of my predecessors who ruled over Jerusalem;

I have acquired much wisdom and knowledge.”

Proverbs 21:22

21:22 The wise person can scale the city of the mighty

and bring down the stronghold in which they trust.

Proverbs 24:5

24:5 A wise warrior is strong,

and a man of knowledge makes his strength stronger;

Colossians 1:9-11

Paul’s Prayer for the Growth of the Church

1:9 For this reason we also, from the day we heard about you, have not ceased praying for you and asking God to fill you with the knowledge of his will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, 1:10 so that you may live worthily of the Lord and please him in all respects – bearing fruit in every good deed, growing in the knowledge of God, 1:11 being strengthened with all power according to his glorious might for the display of all patience and steadfastness, joyfully