Ecclesiastes 9:18
Translations
King James Version (KJV)
Wisdom is better than weapons of war: but one sinner destroys much good.
American King James Version (AKJV)
Wisdom is better than weapons of war: but one sinner destroys much good.
American Standard Version (ASV)
Wisdom is better than weapons of war; but one sinner destroyeth much good.
Basic English Translation (BBE)
Wisdom is better than instruments of war, but one sinner is the destruction of much good.
Webster's Revision
Wisdom is better than weapons of war: but one sinner destroyeth much good.
World English Bible
Wisdom is better than weapons of war; but one sinner destroys much good.
English Revised Version (ERV)
Wisdom is better than weapons of war: but one sinner destroyeth much good.
Clarke's Ecclesiastes 9:18 Bible Commentary
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.
Barnes's Ecclesiastes 9:18 Bible Commentary
Sinner - The word in the original indicates intellectual as well as moral error.