Better is a poor and wise youth is the “priority” element in the “better” saying. Youth signifies a young male, possibly a teenager, though the term can be used of males up to the age of thirty years. The Hebrew root has a second noun form that is applied to people who serve as soldiers, often also being slaves. Thus youth may refer to a male of relatively low social class, though the emphasis here may be more on the fact that he is young. The conventional view in Israel was that old people are wise and young people are foolish. So Qoheleth may be using irony when he refers to a wise youth, to make the point that the young can also be wise.

Poor and wise can also be translated “poor but wise.” Bringing these two features together may not have been commonly accepted in Israelite society, but Qoheleth is trying to make an important point. Wisdom does not depend on a person’s social class and wealth. Poor translates a term used only three times in the Old Testament, all of them in Qoheleth (see also 9.15, 16). Moffatt renders poor as “lowly born,” indicating his interpretation along the lines of social class and not only financial poverty. Wisdom writers often made the point that wise people might be poor (see Pro 19.1; 28.6 for some examples).

Better in this setting is not easily defined. In what way is the youth “better” than the king? Good News Translation suggests “he [the king] is not as well off,” but this phrase has various meanings in English. It can mean that the youth is actually wealthier than the king. This would make no sense, given the youth’s poverty. Good News Translation does not really help us clarify this question of the content of the word “better.” However, as we are dealing with a comparison of two kinds of people from different classes and backgrounds, better almost certainly means “more commendable” or “more important.” This is how the wise person viewed the matter; to follow wise teachings was the only commendable way to live. There is also the possibility that better applies to the larger context of the passage: “It is better to be ruled by a young man who is poor but wise than by an old king who is foolish….”

Who will no longer take advice: the more general adjective “foolish” is now expanded by this phrase, which describes in what way the king is foolish. Normally kings and other rulers depended on priests, prophets, and wise counselors to advise them on matters affecting the state. A king who will not take advice is one who does not consult these learned and experienced ones. There is, however, another possible translation for this text. The king may be one who “does not know how to take care of himself any longer.” New American Bible suggests “who no longer knows caution.” These are less likely meanings than the more traditional one, so we shall follow the first possibility: the king “no longer listens to the advice of others.”

Suggested translations of verse 13 are:

• A poor but wise youth is more commendable than an old but foolish king [or, ruler] who no longer accepts advice.

• A youth who is poor but wise is more commendable than a ruler who is old but foolish, no longer accepting advice.

• It is better to have a poor but wise young ruler than an old one who is foolish, who no longer listens to counsel.

Even though translates the Hebrew connective particle ki. It introduces the first of two conditional clauses that emphasize the point Qoheleth is arguing. Rather than presenting these as subordinate clauses, the translator may choose to express them in an independent form: “It makes no difference whether he came from prison to assume the throne or whether he had been born poor.”

He had gone from prison to the throne: this represents the first condition. Our most basic question is to determine who he points to, but we shall put it aside for the moment. Prison is a term with slight textual problems in Hebrew, but almost certainly it is from the root meaning “to bind.” New American Bible gives a metaphorical meaning, seeing it as a reference to his mother’s womb, but there is no valid basis for this view. From prison the person concerned went to the throne as the Revised Standard Version puts it, or “to rule” (New American Bible). The original text uses a form of the root that is related to the notion of kingship, but that is not its only meaning. In Neh 5.7 it describes the activity of a royal advisor or counselor. In 10.16, 17, 20 Qoheleth uses the root in a nonroyal sense. So the term may describe a tribal elder or head of a community. This means that the person described here may not necessarily have been transferred from prison and made king, but rather he became a royal counselor. In the Old Testament Joseph was known for his wisdom and his subsequent role as counselor to the Pharaoh (see Gen 45.8). He was released from prison to take this position. Thus it is possible that the person behind Qoheleth’s example here is Joseph. In this case our translation will be affected; we shall have to change to the throne to “to become a royal advisor,” or “he became the one who gave advice to the king [or, ruler].”

We return to the question of the identity of he. Does it refer to the youth or the king? If our above interpretation is correct, namely, that the Joseph story is behind the example given, then he can only refer to the youth. He is more commendable than an old king, even if he had once been in prison, and had then risen to high office, and even if he always remained subject to the king. We can make this reference clear by rendering he as “that youth.”

A translation to be considered is “… even though that youth may have been released from prison [or, may have once been in prison] to become [or, then became] that king’s advisor.”

Or in his own kingdom had been born poor: the keyword here is poor. The Hebrew term is used only six times outside the wisdom material of Proverbs and Qoheleth, and in three of those settings it describes David. In 1 Sam 18.23 David protests to Saul that he is too poor to be eligible to marry the king’s daughter. Thus there is reason to think that the David tradition lies behind the example cited. Our translation will not be greatly affected by this insight as the meaning of the text is quite clear. No matter how poor a youth may be, if he has wisdom he is superior in every way to an old foolish king, as David was with respect to Saul. This understanding differs from the Jerusalem Bible text “who was born a beggar.” Poverty does not always mean that a person must beg. In most languages there are several ways of expressing the notion “poor.” The translator should take care to use an expression that fits in with the tone of the passage; in English, for example, it is more appropriate to say “poor” or “from humble beginnings” than to say “broke.”

Born comes from the same root as “young man” in the previous verse. Here is another case of a passive that may have to be rendered differently in some languages; for example, “Even though the ones who gave birth to him were poor” or “even though his family doesn’t have money” are possibilities.

The Hebrew construction in his own kingdom raises a small problem for the interpreter. Some versions take the first word in to be a preposition indicating location, while others take it to be a preposition indicating purpose, namely, “[in order] to rule.” The first seems the more likely. In his own kingdom may create problems for translators if there is no concept of kingship and kingdom, or of a ruler who holds absolute authority over a given territory. In those circumstances it may be necessary to use the more general term “in his own land.” Since there is a time lapse between when the young man is born and the time when he will rule, this clause may need to be expanded: “even though he was born poor in the land where he would [eventually] rule.” Revised English Bible has “… in his future kingdom.”

Verses 13 and 14 may need to be reordered, as they are in Good News Translation. In languages that prefer conditions to be presented before conclusions, verses 13 and 14 can be combined and restructured. Something like the following can be acceptable (see also Good News Translation):

• Even if a young man goes from prison to be a ruler, or is born poor in the kingdom where he will eventually rule, it is better to have a young ruler who is poor but wise, than one who is old and foolish, and who no longer listens to advice.

In other languages it may even be necessary to give the “better” clause first, then state the conditions, and then repeat the “better” statement:

• It is better to have a poor but wise young ruler than one who is old and foolish, who no longer listens to advice. Even if the young ruler comes from prison to become king, or even if he is born poor in the kingdom he will eventually rule, it is better for him to rule than an old, foolish king.

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 .