Ecclesiastes 4:13

Bible in Basic English (1941)

A young man who is poor and wise is better than a king who is old and foolish and will not be guided by the wisdom of others.

Additional Resources

Referenced Verses

  • Eccl 9:15-16 : 15 Now there was in the town a poor, wise man, and he, by his wisdom, kept the town safe. But no one had any memory of that same poor man. 16 Then I said, Wisdom is better than strength, but the poor man's wisdom is not respected, and his words are not given a hearing.
  • Gen 37:2 : 2 These are the generations of Jacob: Joseph, a boy seventeen years old, was looking after the flock, together with his brothers, the sons of Bilhah and Zilpah, his father's wives; and Joseph gave their father a bad account of them.
  • 1 Kgs 22:8 : 8 And the king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat, There is still one man by whom we may get directions from the Lord, Micaiah, son of Imlah; but I have no love for him, for he is a prophet of evil to me and not of good. And Jehoshaphat said, Let not the king say so.
  • 2 Chr 16:9-9 : 9 For the eyes of the Lord go this way and that, through all the earth, letting it be seen that he is the strong support of those whose hearts are true to him. In this you have done foolishly, for from now you will have wars. 10 Then Asa was angry with the seer, and put him in prison, burning with wrath against him because of this thing. And at the same time Asa was cruel to some of the people.
  • 2 Chr 24:20-22 : 20 Then the spirit of God came on Zechariah, the son of Jehoiada the priest, and, getting up before the people, he said to them, God has said, Why do you go against the orders of the Lord, so that everything goes badly for you? because you have given up the Lord, he has given you up. 21 But when they had made a secret design against him, he was stoned with stones, by the king's order, in the outer square of the Lord's house. 22 So King Joash did not keep in mind how good Jehoiada his father had been to him, but put his son to death. And in the hour of his death he said, May the Lord see it and take payment!
  • 2 Chr 25:16 : 16 But while he was talking to him the king said to him, Have we made you one of the king's government? say no more, or it will be the cause of your death. Then the prophet gave up protesting, and said, It is clear to me that God's purpose is your destruction, because you have done this and have not given ear to my words.
  • Prov 19:1 : 1 Better is the poor man whose ways are upright, than the man of wealth whose ways are twisted.
  • Prov 28:6 : 6 Better is the poor man whose ways are upright, than the man of wealth whose ways are not straight.
  • Prov 28:15-16 : 15 Like a loud-voiced lion and a wandering bear, is an evil ruler over a poor people. 16 The prince who has no sense is a cruel ruler; but he who has no desire to get profit for himself will have long life.

Similar Verses (AI)

These verses are found using AI-powered semantic similarity based on meaning and context. Results may occasionally include unexpected connections.

  • Eccl 4:14-15
    2 verses
    80%

    14 Because out of a prison the young man comes to be king, though by birth he was only a poor man in the kingdom.

    15 I saw all the living under the sun round the young man who was to be ruler in place of the king.

  • Eccl 9:15-17
    3 verses
    76%

    15 Now there was in the town a poor, wise man, and he, by his wisdom, kept the town safe. But no one had any memory of that same poor man.

    16 Then I said, Wisdom is better than strength, but the poor man's wisdom is not respected, and his words are not given a hearing.

    17 The words of the wise which come quietly to the ear are noted more than the cry of a ruler among the foolish.

  • Prov 19:1
    76%

    1 Better is the poor man whose ways are upright, than the man of wealth whose ways are twisted.

  • Eccl 7:4-5
    2 verses
    76%

    4 The hearts of the wise are in the house of weeping; but the hearts of the foolish are in the house of joy.

    5 It is better to take note of the protest of the wise, than for a man to give ear to the song of the foolish.

  • Prov 15:20-21
    2 verses
    75%

    20 A wise son makes a glad father, but a foolish man has no respect for his mother.

    21 Foolish behaviour is joy to the unwise; but a man of good sense makes his way straight.

  • Prov 17:24-25
    2 verses
    75%

    24 Wisdom is before the face of him who has sense; but the eyes of the foolish are on the ends of the earth.

    25 A foolish son is a grief to his father, and bitter pain to her who gave him birth.

  • Prov 15:5
    75%

    5 A foolish man puts no value on his father's training; but he who has respect for teaching has good sense.

  • Prov 10:1
    74%

    1 A wise son makes a glad father, but a foolish son is a sorrow to his mother.

  • Prov 22:15
    74%

    15 Foolish ways are deep-seated in the heart of a child, but the rod of punishment will send them far from him.

  • Prov 29:15
    74%

    15 The rod and sharp words give wisdom: but a child who is not guided is a cause of shame to his mother.

  • Prov 28:6-7
    2 verses
    74%

    6 Better is the poor man whose ways are upright, than the man of wealth whose ways are not straight.

    7 He who keeps the law is a wise son, but he who keeps company with feasters puts shame on his father.

  • Prov 17:6-7
    2 verses
    74%

    6 Children's children are the crown of old men, and the glory of children is their fathers.

    7 Fair words are not to be looked for from a foolish man, much less are false lips in a ruler.

  • Prov 13:1
    74%

    1 A wise son is a lover of teaching, but the ears of the haters of authority are shut to sharp words.

  • Eccl 10:16
    73%

    16 Unhappy is the land whose king is a boy, and whose rulers are feasting in the morning.

  • Prov 17:2
    73%

    2 A servant who does wisely will have rule over a son causing shame, and will have his part in the heritage among brothers.

  • Eccl 4:3
    73%

    3 Yes, happier than the dead or the living seemed he who has not ever been, who has not seen the evil which is done under the sun.

  • Prov 19:10
    73%

    10 Material comfort is not good for the foolish; much less for a servant to be put over rulers.

  • Prov 14:24
    73%

    24 Their wisdom is a crown to the wise, but their foolish behaviour is round the head of the unwise.

  • Prov 16:16
    73%

    16 How much better it is to get wisdom than gold! and to get knowledge is more to be desired than silver.

  • Prov 17:21
    73%

    21 He who has an unwise son gets sorrow for himself, and the father of a foolish son has no joy.

  • Eccl 7:10-11
    2 verses
    72%

    10 Say not, Why were the days which have gone by better than these? Such a question comes not from wisdom.

    11 Wisdom together with a heritage is good, and a profit to those who see the sun.

  • Prov 29:20
    72%

    20 Have you seen a man who is quick with his tongue? There is more hope for a foolish man than for him.

  • Prov 22:6
    72%

    6 If a child is trained up in the right way, even when he is old he will not be turned away from it.

  • Prov 1:5
    72%

    5 (The wise man, hearing, will get greater learning, and the acts of the man of good sense will be wisely guided:)

  • Eccl 6:8
    72%

    8 What have the wise more than the foolish? and what has the poor man by walking wisely before the living?

  • Prov 3:13
    72%

    13 Happy is the man who makes discovery of wisdom, and he who gets knowledge.

  • Prov 14:33
    72%

    33 Wisdom has her resting-place in the mind of the wise, but she is not seen among the foolish.

  • Prov 23:24
    72%

    24 The father of the upright man will be glad, and he who has a wise child will have joy because of him.

  • Isa 3:4
    72%

    4 And I will make children their chiefs, and foolish ones will have rule over them.

  • Prov 14:18
    71%

    18 Foolish behaviour is the heritage of the simple, but men of good sense are crowned with knowledge.

  • Prov 28:11
    71%

    11 The man of wealth seems to himself to be wise, but the poor man who has sense has a low opinion of him.

  • Prov 4:1
    71%

    1 Give ear, my sons, to the teaching of a father; give attention so that you may have knowledge:

  • Prov 27:11
    71%

    11 My son, be wise and make my heart glad, so that I may give back an answer to him who puts me to shame.

  • Prov 30:22
    71%

    22 A servant when he becomes a king; a man without sense when his wealth is increased;

  • Prov 17:10
    71%

    10 A word of protest goes deeper into one who has sense than a hundred blows into a foolish man.

  • Prov 17:16
    71%

    16 How will money in the hand of the foolish get him wisdom, seeing that he has no sense?

  • Eccl 2:13
    71%

    13 Then I saw that wisdom is better than foolish ways--as the light is better than the dark.

  • Job 32:9
    71%

    9 It is not the old who are wise, and those who are full of years have not the knowledge of what is right.

  • Eccl 2:16
    71%

    16 Of the wise man, as of the foolish man, there is no memory for ever, seeing that those who now are will have gone from memory in the days to come. See how death comes to the wise as to the foolish!

  • Prov 19:13
    71%

    13 A foolish son is the destruction of his father; and the bitter arguments of a wife are like drops of rain falling without end.

  • Prov 13:18
    71%

    18 Need and shame will be the fate of him who is uncontrolled by training; but he who takes note of teaching will be honoured.