Verse Lens · Expanded explanation
Ecclesiastes 4:13 Explained in Context
Use this verse as a doorway into the larger passage—not as an isolated saying.
Verse 13. 13Better is a poor and a wise child than an old and foolish king, who will no more be admonished.
King James Version — public domain in the United States · Bible text and permissions
Quick Meaning
This verse prefers a poor wise youth to an old foolish king who no longer receives warning.
Read It With
- Ecclesiastes 4:13-16
Read Ecclesiastes 4:13 with 4:13-16. This verse prefers a poor wise youth to an old foolish king who no longer receives warning. The full unit establishes this movement: A teachable poor youth can surpass an entrenched king, yet accession, crowds, and popularity remain unstable because the next generation will not continue rejoicing in the ruler.
Why This Verse Appears Here
Political success becomes another case where wisdom has a real advantage but cannot secure permanent status or public memory. Within that movement, this verse prefers a poor wise youth to an old foolish king who no longer receives warning.
Follow the Context
- A poor wise youth is better than an old king who no longer accepts warning.
- The youth can rise from prison or poverty to kingship.
- Qoheleth sees crowds gathering around a second youth or successor.
- Limitless public support does not survive later generations.
- The episode receives the hebel verdict.
Phrase-by-Phrase Explanation
“will no more be admonished”
In plain language: The ruler's refusal or inability to receive warning.
prefers a poor wise youth to an old foolish king who no longer receives warning. Teachability can matter more than age, wealth, and office.
Why it matters: The wording carries interpretive or ethical risk requiring the complete unit and stated limits.
How certain? probableWhat This Verse Is Not Saying
The verse does not demean older adults or declare young people automatically wise.
It does not make poverty proof of virtue or kingship proof of folly.
What Remains True
Teachability can matter more than age, wealth, and office.
How It Can Shape Life
- Evaluate leaders by how they receive accountable correction.
Teach It Back
Explain Ecclesiastes 4:13's precise role in Ecclesiastes 4:13-16. Include the complete movement, one material uncertainty, and one conclusion the verse does not authorize.
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Continue in Context
The full thought-unit study remains the final contextual authority for this Verse Lens.
Read Ecclesiastes 4:13-16 — The Wise Youth and Fickle Public MemorySources used for this Verse Lens
How certain is this explanation? probable
Where care is needed
Child can mean youth, and the proverb's precise political narrative unfolds ambiguously.
These are the sources used directly for this lens. Language, grammar, disagreements, and the complete source shelf remain attached to the full thought-unit research record.
Biblical text
King James (Authorized) Version — eng-kjv2006
eBible.org and CrossWire Bible Society
USFM archive eng-kjv2006_usfm.zip; source files dated 2026-08-19; downloaded 2026-08-24; archive SHA-256 aec1b3b26c622fd3d963d2bbac963016b9513246ffbfa20da00bb100372ea007; normalized corpus SHA-256 09aef51d90488aa7b9722b3fd9a93f4b25f6bf2064c5fd798fb39673c300ddf2.
Supports: Exact displayed Scripture wording, paragraph markers, supplied-word markup, and complete verse coverage.
Exact location: Ecclesiastes 4:13-16, repository-pinned eng-kjv2006 USFM corpus
Open source ↗hebrew text and morphology
Open Scriptures Hebrew Bible: Ecclesiastes
Open Scriptures
Open Scriptures, release 2.2
Supports: Masoretic Hebrew wording and morphology used for lexical, grammatical, repeated-word, and translation questions.
Exact location: Open Scriptures MorphHB v2.2, commit 6a5db284c715c18b239422e57bb89684e6a19f00, wlc/Eccl.xml, 4:13-16
Open source ↗translation and translator notes
NET Bible: Ecclesiastes with translators' notes
Biblical Studies Press
Biblical Studies Press, 2006
Supports: Verse-level textual, grammatical, lexical, literary, and translation alternatives.
Exact location: NET Bible Ecclesiastes PDF, printed pp. 1201, translation and notes on 4:13-16
Open source ↗