Ecclesiastes 9:12-18

¹²For even man knoweth not his time; as fish that are taken hold of by an evil net, and as birds that are taken hold of by a snare, like these are the sons of man snared at an evil time, when it falleth upon them suddenly.

¹³This also I have seen: wisdom under the sun, and it is great to me.

¹⁴A little city, and few men in it, and a great king hath come unto it, and hath surrounded it, and hath built against it great bulwarks;

¹⁵and there hath been found in it a poor wise man, and he hath delivered the city by his wisdom, and men have not remembered that poor man!

¹⁶And I said, 'Better is wisdom than might, and the wisdom of the poor is despised, and his words are not heard.' —

¹⁷The words of the wise in quiet are heard, More than the cry of a ruler over fools.

¹⁸Better is wisdom than weapons of conflict, And one sinner destroyeth much good!