As noted above, verses 19 and 20 resume the themes in verse 16, where Qoheleth warns against being self-righteous and pretentious (Revised Standard Version “overwise”). Verse 19 praises wisdom, while verse 20 states that there is no truly righteous person in this world. Note that, while verse 16 speaks first of the righteous person and then of the wise, verses 19-20 present these two themes in the opposite order.

Wisdom gives strength to the wise man: the terms Wisdom and wise man have occurred before; see comments on 1.13, 16. There is a slight problem with the verb gives strength because the Qumran fragment and the Septuagint version of this verse suggest a different verb, namely, the verb “help,” “assist.” Bible en français courant seems to follow this interpretation when it says “Wisdom guides a person better than….” We shall follow the Hebrew text, “make strong,” though the difference between the meaning of the two verbs is minor. Wisdom is the wise man‘s source of strength, and the imperfect form of the verb gives the sense that it is a constant source of strength. Strength here almost certainly is not physical in nature, although the book of Proverbs is full of sayings which claim that wisdom gives all kinds of material benefits. A rendering like “authority” or “power” is more appropriate. In 9.13-16 there is an illustration in which a poor wise man saves a city from an invading army. However, such success does not require military power for victory; rather, the essence of his wisdom is an ability to find a way to rescue the people from military threat. Wisdom gives a person great authority and power, more than the leaders of a city may have, says Qoheleth. On this view, when Good News Translation says “Wisdom does more for a person,” it is giving a rather weak rendering, failing to say how wisdom benefits the person. New American Bible “wisdom is a better defence” tends to be more passive than active. Neither is a particularly good model.

In some languages it may be awkward to speak of “wisdom giving strength to a wise person,” the “wise” being too repetitive. In this case some other expression can be used; for example, “for those who possess it, wisdom gives strength” or “wisdom is a constant source of power to those who possess it.”

More than ten rulers: why Qoheleth should illustrate wisdom’s power with the expression ten rulers may be explained by the pattern of city government in Judah, where each was administered by a ten-man council. However, this interpretation assumes a pattern of government that was of Greek origin. Rulers (shallit) is a term used only once outside Ecclesiastes, in Gen 42.6. There Revised Standard Version renders it as “governor.” The rulers are political figures holding authority over the affairs of a community. The power that the wise man derives from wisdom is more than that of many rulers, an idea that can be well rendered by a translation such as “Wisdom gives a wise man greater authority than….”

That are in a city is a general statement, though the Hebrew is literally “who are in the city.” Since it seems that these rulers are political figures responsible for the affairs of the town, they do not merely live in the city, though this is one possible interpretation of the Hebrew. We can express the meaning as “the ten-man council of the city,” or “the leaders who administer the city.” However, in translating city we need to keep in mind that a modern city is very different from an ancient one in both size and population. “Town” will probably be a more appropriate term in many cultures.

Good News Translation‘s rendering, “Wisdom does more for a person than ten rulers can do for a city,” raises the question whether Qoheleth makes an absolute comparison or a relative one. In other words, does Qoheleth merely say that wisdom helps the wise man more than ten rulers help the city (a relative comparison)? New American Bible “Wisdom is a better defence for the wise man than would be ten princes in the city” is an example of this type of comparison. Or is Qoheleth stating that wisdom gives a wise man more power and authority than the combined power that ten rulers of a city have? This is an absolute comparison. The Hebrew supports the latter, the absolute comparison. This interpretation is fully consistent with Qoheleth’s general opinion that wisdom is powerful enough to save a city from enemy attack (9.13-16).

Suggestions for translation are:

• Wisdom gives a wise person greater power [or, authority] than the ten rulers of a town have.

• Wisdom makes a wise man more powerful than the [ten-man] council that administers a town.

• Wisdom enables a person to be stronger than the ten people ruling a town.

Quoted with permission from Ogden, Graham S. and Zogbo, Lynell. A Handbook on the Book of Ecclesiates. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 1997. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .