Ecclesiastes 9:18

Ecc 9:18 Wisdom [is] better than weapons of war: but one sinner destroyeth much good.

Ver. 18. Wisdom is better than weapons of war.] As David found it in his encounter with Goliath, Gideon in his stratagem against the Midianites, and our renowned Drake in dissipating that Invincible Armada, which being three years in preparing with incredible cost, was by his wisdom within a month overthrown and confounded, with the loss of one English ship only, and not a hundred persons. Romani sedendo vincunt. This was the glory of the Romans, that they conquered the world by wisdom, not by weapons.

“ Unus homo nobis cunctando restituit rem. ”

Not Achilles, but Ulysses is termed πολιοπορθος, the sacker of cities; {a} Cyneas took mere towns by his policy than Pyrrhus by his prowess.

But one sinner destroyeth much good.] He may be as an Achan in the army, as a Jonah in the ship, a trouble-town, a common mischief, a traitor to the state; especially if he be an eminent man, as Jeroboam, that ringleader of rebellion, and Manasseh, who "made Judah also to sin," {2Ki 21:11} and so brought such evil upon them, that whosoever heard of it, "both his ears tingled." {Ecc 9:12} Great men’s sins do more hurt (1.) By imitation; for Regis ad exemplnm, &c.; ( 2.) By imputation, for plectuntur Achivi; the poor people pay for such men’s faults, as they did for David’s. {2Sa 24:15-17} I shall close up this chapter with that memorable passage of a reverend writer, yet alive: If England’s fears were greater, thy reformation may save it. {Jer 5:1} If our hopes were greater, thy sin and security might undo it. {Ecc 9:18} One sinner destroys much good. I only add, how much more a rabble of rebels, conspiring to provoke God. Sure I am, we have great cause to wish for our country, as Ferus did for the Romish synagogue; I would we had some Moses, said he, to take away the evils, Non enim unum tantum vitulum, sed multos habemus, for we have not only one golden calf, but many among us.

{a} Plutarch.

John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

9:18–10:1 one sinner can destroy . . . a little foolishness spoils: Sin and foolishness can undo a lot of good in a very short time.

Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

one sinner, &c.-- (Jos 7:1, Jos 7:11-12). Though wisdom excels folly (Ecc 9:16; Ecc 7:19), yet a "little folly (equivalent to sin) can destroy much good," both in himself (Ecc 10:1; Jam 2:10) and in others. "Wisdom" must, from the antithesis to "sinner," mean religion. Thus typically, the "little city" may be applied to the Church (Luk 12:32; Heb 12:22); the great king to Satan (Joh 12:31); the despised poor wise man, Jesus Christ (Isa 53:2-3; Mar 6:3; Co2 8:9; Eph 1:7-8; Col 2:3).

Next: Ecclesiastes Chapter 10

Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Verse 18. Wisdom is better than weapons of war] So proved in the case of Archimedes.

But one sinner] Such as the Roman butcher above mentioned.

Destroyeth much good] Such as were the life and skill of the Syracusan mathematician. One sinner has often injured the work of God; one stumbling-block has sometimes destroyed a revival of religion. Sin acts like a ferment; whatever comes in contact with it, it assimilates to itself.

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

18. Wisdom is better than weapons of war] The maxim presents another illustration of the irony of history. The excellence of wisdom is acknowledged. Counsel is more than the materiel of war; the statesman more than the general, and yet one man by his guilt or folly, by the perversity which includes both (the Hebrew verb for “sinneth” has this meaning, as in Pro_8:36), may mar what it has taken years to bring to a good issue. The defeat of an army, the most terrible catastrophe, may often be traced to the fact that “some one has blundered,” in carelessness or passion. It is probable enough that, as in Ecc_9:14, the writer had some definite historical fact present to his thoughts which we are unable to identify. The history of Achan, in Jos_7:1-12, presents a sufficient illustration.

The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Wisdom is better than weapons of war,.... And does what they cannot do; of which the wisdom of the poor wise man is a full proof, which delivered the city from a potent prince, when weapons of war could not: see Ecc 7:10;

but one sinner destroyeth much good: his own soul by his sins, and the souls of others by his counsels, example, and conversation, which corrupt good manners; so does one sinner in a family, neighbourhood, and town; as one poor wise man does much good, one sinner mars much; one Achan in a camp or army, one bad counsel for in a cabinet, one false teacher in the church, will do a great deal of mischief, as well as one debauchee in a town or city. The Vulgate Latin version is, "who sins in one"; offends or sins in one, as in Jam 2:10; so the Syriac version, "one sin destroys much good", or many good things; and to the same purpose the Arabic version, "he that committeth one sin".

Next: Ecclesiastes Chapter 10

John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Sinner - The word in the original indicates intellectual as well as moral error.

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

Things. A woman saved Abela; and Achan almost ruined Israel. Want of prudence in a general is often fatal. Virtues are connected, as well as vices. (Calmet) --- For one transgression, many acts of virtue are lost. (St. Jerome)

George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).

Than weapons of war; than armed power.

Sinner; a wicked fool; by which expression and opposition of a sinner to a wise man he gives us a key to understand his meaning in divers places of his books, that by wisdom he means true piety, and by folly wickedness; and withal, showeth that sin, as it is the greatest folly, so it is more pernicious to men than mere folly properly so called.

Destroyeth much good; by his wicked counsels and courses brings much damage and mischief, both to himself and others.

Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

18. Wisdom… weapons — The antithesis is continued, Though wisdom be better. The anecdote given above illustrates this. The “poor wise man” prevaileth over the army and the bulwarks.

But — Better, yet.

One sinner — One fool. Said the French king of his heir and grandson, Francis I., “This great boy will spoil all.” And so he did; and illustrations of the like are sadly frequent. A fool may mar and baffle the wisest plans of the wise.

Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Wisdom is better than weapons of war. Such is the moral which Koheleth desires to draw from the little narrative given above. (see vers. 14-16; and Ecc_7:19) Wisdom can do what no material force can effect, and often produces results which all the implements of war could not command. But one sinner destroyeth much good. The happy consequences which the wise man"s counsel might accomplish, or has already accomplished, may be overthrown or rendered useless by the villany or perversity of a bad man. The Vulgate, reading differently, has, Qui in uno peccaverit, multa bona perdet. But this seems to be out of keeping with the context. Adam"s sin infected the whole race of man; Achau"s transgression caused Israel"s defeat; (Jos_7:11, Jos_7:12) Rehoboam"s folly occasioned the great schism. (1Ki_12:16) The wide-reaching effects of one little error are illustrated by the proverbial saying which every one knows, and which runs in Latin thus: "Clavus unus perdit equi soleam, soles equum, equus equitem, eques castra, castro rempublicam.

The destructiveness of one evil life.

How much of destruction may flow from one single life may be seen if we look at the subject

I NEGATIVELY. We may judge of the magnitude of the evil by considering:

1. How one evil life may hinder the work of God; e.g. Achan, Sanballat, Herod, Nero. Who shall say how much of Christian influence has been arrested by one grossly inconsistent member of a Church, or by one arch-persecutor of the gospel of Christ?

2. How much a man may fail to do by refusing to spend his powers in the service of God. To a man with large means, great resources, brilliant capacities, almost anything is open in the direction of holy usefulness, of widespread and far-descending influence. All this is lost, and in a sense destroyed, by a selfish and guilty withholdment of it all from the service of God and man.

II POSITIVELY. We may estimate the serious and lamentable mischief of an evil life if we think that a godless man may be injuring his neighbors:

1. By weakening or undermining their faith; causing them to lose their hold on Divine truth, and thus sinking into the miseries of doubt or into the darkness and despair of utter unbelief.

2. By undoing the integrity of the upright; leading them into the fatal morass of an immoral life.

3. By cooling, or even killing, the consecration of the zealous; causing them to slacken their speed or even to leave the field of noble service. One man, by his own evil example, by his words of folly and falsity, by his deeds of wrong, may enfeeble many minds, may despoil many hearts, may misguide many souls, may blight and darken many lives. C.

The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

The following proverb also leans on the history above narrated: "Better is wisdom than weapons of war; and one sinner destroyeth much good." The above history has shown by way of example that wisdom accomplishes more than implements of war, כּלי ק = כּלי מל (Assyr. unut tahazi)

(Note: Vid., Fried. Delitzsch's Assyr. Stud. p. 129.)

i.e., than all the apparatus belonging to preparation for war. But the much good which a wise man is accomplishing or has accomplished, one sinner (חוטא)

(Note: The Syr. (not the Targ.) had חטא before it, and thus realized it, which appears to correspond better with the parall. חכמה.)

by treachery or calumny may render vain, or may even destroy, through mere malicious pleasure in evil. This is a synthetic distich whose two parts may be interpreted independently. As wisdom accomplishes something great, so a single villain may have a far-reaching influence, viz., such as destroys much good.

Keil & Delitzsch — Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament (1861–1891) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API. (Old Testament only.)

Wisdom is better This refers to the wisdom of Serah, of whom it is said (II Sam. 20:22): “And the woman came to all the people in her wisdom,” [which] availed them more than the weapons that were in their hands, to fight with Joab.

and one sinner destroys much good Had she not slain Sheba the son of Bichri, they would all have been destroyed by him. (Ecc. Rabbah).

Another explanation: and one sinner destroys much good If Israel were [composed] half of righteous people and half of wicked ones, and one person came and sinned, making the wicked the majority, the result would be that he weighed them all down to the guilty side.

Rashi on the Tanakh — English translations: “The Judaica Press complete Tanach with Rashi, translated by A. J. Rosenberg” (CC BY 4.0); “Pentateuch with Rashi's commentary by M. Rosenbaum and A.M. Silbermann, 1929-1934” (public domain); “The Metsudah Tanach series, Lakewood, N.J” (CC BY 4.0); and “The Book of Joshua, Metsudah Publications, 1997” (CC BY 4.0). Text via Sefaria.