Proverbs 8:14

8:14 Counsel and sound wisdom belong to me; ¹ 

I possess understanding and might.

Proverbs 10:29

10:29 The way of the Lord ²  is like ³  a stronghold for the upright, ⁴ 

but it is destruction ⁵  to evildoers. ⁶ 

Proverbs 21:22

21:22 The wise person ⁷  can scale ⁸  the city of the mighty

and bring down the stronghold ⁹  in which they trust. ¹⁰ 

Ecclesiastes 7:19

Wisdom Needed Because No One is Truly Righteous

7:19 Wisdom gives a wise person more protection ¹¹ 

than ten rulers in a city.

Ecclesiastes 9:14-18

9:14 There was once ¹²  a small city with a few men in it,

and a mighty king attacked it, besieging ¹³  it and building strong ¹⁴  siege works against it.

9:15 However, a poor but wise man lived in the city, ¹⁵ 

and he could have delivered ¹⁶  the city by his wisdom,

but no one listened ¹⁷  to that poor man.

9:16 So I concluded that wisdom is better than might, ¹⁸ 

but a poor man’s wisdom is despised; no one ever listens ¹⁹  to his advice. ²⁰ 

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 ²¹  among fools.

9:18 Wisdom is better than weapons of war,

but one sinner can destroy much that is good.

[8:14]  ¹ tc In the second half of v. 14 instead of אֲנִי (’ani) the editors propose reading simply לִי (li) as the renderings in the LXX, Latin, and Syriac suggest. Then, in place of the לִי that comes in the same colon, read וְלִי (vÿli). While the MT is a difficult reading, it can be translated as it is. It would be difficult to know exactly what the ancient versions were reading, because their translations could have been derived from either text. They represent an effort to smooth out the text.

[10:29]  ² sn The “way of the Lord” is an idiom for God’s providential administration of life; it is what the Lord does (“way” being a hypocatastasis).

[10:29]  ³ tn The comparative “like” does not appear in the Hebrew text, but is implied by the metaphor; it is supplied in the translation for the sake of clarity.

[10:29]  ⁴ tn Heb “for the one with integrity” (לַתֹּם, latom).

[10:29]  ⁵ tn Or “ruin” (so NIV).

[10:29]  ⁶ tn Heb “those who practice iniquity.”

[21:22]  ⁷ tn Heb “The wise [one/man].”

[21:22]  ⁸ tn The Qal perfect tense of עָלָה (’alah) functions in a potential nuance. Wisdom can be more effectual than physical strength.

[21:22]  ⁹ sn In a war the victory is credited not so much to the infantry as to the tactician who plans the attack. Brilliant strategy wins wars, even over apparently insuperable odds (e.g., Prov 24:5-6; Eccl 9:13-16; 2 Cor 10:4).

[21:22]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “and bring down the strength of its confidence.” The word “strength” is a metonymy of adjunct, referring to the place of strength, i.e., “the stronghold.” “Confidence” is a genitive of worth; the stronghold is their confidence, it is appropriate for the confidence of the city.

[7:19]  ¹¹ tn Heb “gives strength.”

[9:14]  ¹² tn The verbs in this section function either as past definite actions (describing a past situation) or as hypothetical past actions (describing an imaginary hypothetical situation for the sake of illustration). The LXX uses subjunctives throughout vv. 14-15 to depict the scenario as a hypothetical situation: “Suppose there was a little city, and a few men [lived] in it; and there should come against it a great king, and surround it, and build great siege-works against it; and should find in it a poor wise man, and he should save the city through his wisdom; yet no man would remember that poor man.”

[9:14]  ¹³ tn The two perfect tense verbs וְסָבַב (vÿsavav, “he besieged”) and וּבָנָה (uvanah, “he built”) may be taken in a complementary sense, qualifying the action of the main perfect tense verb וּבָא (uva’, “he attacked it”).

[9:14]  ¹⁴ tn The root גדל (“mighty; strong; large”) is repeated in 9:13b for emphasis: “a mighty (גָדוֹל, gadol) king…building strong (גְדֹלִים, gÿdolim) siege works.” This repetition highlights the contrast between the vast power and resources of the attacking king, and the meager resources of the “little” (קְטַנָּה, qÿtannah) city with “few” (מְעָט, mÿ’at) men in it to defend it.

[9:15]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “was found in it”; the referent (the city) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[9:15]  ¹⁶ tn Or “he delivered.” The verb וּמִלַּט (umillat, from מָלַט, malat, “to deliver”) is functioning either in an indicative sense (past definite action: “he delivered”) or in a modal sense (past potential: “he could have delivered”). The literal meaning of זָכַר (zakhar, “to remember”) in the following line harmonizes with the indicative: “but no one remembered that poor man [afterward].” However, the modal is supported by v. 16: “A poor man’s wisdom is despised; no one ever listens to his advice.” This approach must nuance זָכַר (“to remember”) as “[no one] listened to [that poor man].” Most translations favor the indicative approach: “he delivered” or “he saved” (KJV, RSV, NRSV, NAB, ASV, NASB, MLB, NIV); however, some adopt the modal nuance: “he might have saved” (NEB, NJPS, NASB margin).

[9:15]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “remembered.”

[9:16]  ¹⁸ tn Or “power.”

[9:16]  ¹⁹ tn The participle form נִשְׁמָעִים (nishma’im, Niphal participle mpl from שָׁמַע, “to listen”) is used verbally to emphasize a continual, durative, gnomic action.

[9:16]  ²⁰ tn Heb “his words are never listened to.”

[9:17]  ²¹ tn The phrase “is heard” does not appear in the Hebrew text, but is supplied in the translation for clarity and smoothness. Note its appearance in the previous line.