Ecclesiastes 9:13-18

¹³Once I saw something that a wise man did that impressed me.

¹⁴There was a small town, where only a few people lived. The army of a great king came to that town and surrounded it. They built dirt ramps up against the walls in order to climb up and attack the town.

¹⁵In that town there was a man who was poor but very wise. Because of doing what that man suggested, the town was saved; but people soon forgot about him.

¹⁶So I realized that although being wise is better than being strong, if you are poor, no one will appreciate what you do, and people will soon forget what you said.

¹⁷Speaking quietly what is very wise is much more sensible than a king shouting to foolish people.

¹⁸Being wise is more useful than a lot of weapons; but if you do one foolish thing, it is possible that because of doing that, you will ruin all the good things that you have done.