Now in the morning his spirit was troubled, so he sent and called for all the magicians of Egypt, and all its wise men. And Pharaoh told them his dreams, but there was no one who could interpret them to Pharaoh.

Then Pharaoh also called for the wise men and the sorcerers, and they also, the magicians of Egypt, did the same with their secret arts.

Then the king said to the wise men who understood the times—for it was the custom of the king so to speak before all who knew law and justice

Haman recounted to Zeresh his wife and all his friends everything that had happened to him. Then his wise men and Zeresh his wife said to him, “If Mordecai, before whom you have begun to fall, is of Jewish origin, you will not overcome him, but will surely fall before him.”

What wise men have told,
And have not concealed from their fathers,

“Hear my words, you wise men,
And listen to me, you who know.

For he sees that even wise men die;
The stupid and the senseless alike perish
And leave their wealth to others.

Wise men store up knowledge,
But with the mouth of the foolish, ruin is at hand.

He who walks with wise men will be wise,
But the companion of fools will suffer harm.

Scorners set a city aflame,
But wise men turn away anger.

For I have taken all this to my heart and explain it that righteous men, wise men, and their deeds are in the hand of God. Man does not know whether it will be love or hatred; anything awaits him.

The words of wise men are like goads, and masters of these collections are like well-driven nails; they are given by one Shepherd.

Well then, where are your wise men?
Please let them tell you,
And let them understand what the Lord of hosts
Has purposed against Egypt.

Therefore behold, I will once again deal marvelously with this people, wondrously marvelous;
And the wisdom of their wise men will perish,
And the discernment of their discerning men will be concealed.”

Causing the omens of boasters to fail,
Making fools out of diviners,
Causing wise men to draw back
And turning their knowledge into foolishness,

“The wise men are put to shame,
They are dismayed and caught;
Behold, they have rejected the word of the Lord,
And what kind of wisdom do they have?

Who would not fear You, O King of the nations?
Indeed it is Your due!
For among all the wise men of the nations
And in all their kingdoms,
There is none like You.

“A sword against the Chaldeans,” declares the Lord,
“And against the inhabitants of Babylon
And against her officials and her wise men!

“I will make her princes and her wise men drunk,
Her governors, her prefects and her mighty men,
That they may sleep a perpetual sleep and not wake up,”
Declares the King, whose name is the Lord of hosts.

“The inhabitants of Sidon and Arvad were your rowers;
Your wise men, O Tyre, were aboard; they were your pilots.

“The elders of Gebal and her wise men were with you repairing your seams;
All the ships of the sea and their sailors were with you in order to deal in your merchandise.

Because of this the king became indignant and very furious and gave orders to destroy all the wise men of Babylon.

So the decree went forth that the wise men should be slain; and they looked for Daniel and his friends to kill them.

Then Daniel replied with discretion and discernment to Arioch, the captain of the king’s bodyguard, who had gone forth to slay the wise men of Babylon;

so that they might request compassion from the God of heaven concerning this mystery, so that Daniel and his friends would not be destroyed with the rest of the wise men of Babylon.

“It is He who changes the times and the epochs;
He removes kings and establishes kings;
He gives wisdom to wise men
And knowledge to men of understanding.

Therefore, Daniel went in to Arioch, whom the king had appointed to destroy the wise men of Babylon; he went and spoke to him as follows: “Do not destroy the wise men of Babylon! Take me into the king’s presence, and I will declare the interpretation to the king.”

Daniel answered before the king and said, “As for the mystery about which the king has inquired, neither wise men, conjurers, magicians nor diviners are able to declare it to the king.

Then the king promoted Daniel and gave him many great gifts, and he made him ruler over the whole province of Babylon and chief prefect over all the wise men of Babylon.

So I gave orders to bring into my presence all the wise men of Babylon, that they might make known to me the interpretation of the dream.

This is the dream which I, King Nebuchadnezzar, have seen. Now you, Belteshazzar, tell me its interpretation, inasmuch as none of the wise men of my kingdom is able to make known to me the interpretation; but you are able, for a spirit of the holy gods is in you.’

The king called aloud to bring in the conjurers, the Chaldeans and the diviners. The king spoke and said to the wise men of Babylon, “Any man who can read this inscription and explain its interpretation to me shall be clothed with purple and have a necklace of gold around his neck, and have authority as third ruler in the kingdom.”

Then all the king’s wise men came in, but they could not read the inscription or make known its interpretation to the king.

Just now the wise men and the conjurers were brought in before me that they might read this inscription and make its interpretation known to me, but they could not declare the interpretation of the message.

“Will I not on that day,” declares the Lord,
“Destroy wise men from Edom
And understanding from the mountain of Esau?

A wise man will hear and increase in learning,
And a man of understanding will acquire wise counsel,

For there is no lasting remembrance of the wise man as with the fool, inasmuch as in the coming days all will be forgotten. And how the wise man and the fool alike die!

“Men of understanding will say to me,
And a wise man who hears me,

Give instruction to a wise man and he will be still wiser,
Teach a righteous man and he will increase his learning.

Thus says the Lord, “Let not a wise man boast of his wisdom, and let not the mighty man boast of his might, let not a rich man boast of his riches;

When a wise man has a controversy with a foolish man,
The foolish man either rages or laughs, and there is no rest.

and I saw every work of God, I concluded that man cannot discover the work which has been done under the sun. Even though man should seek laboriously, he will not discover; and though the wise man should say, “I know,” he cannot discover.

“Can a vigorous man be of use to God,
Or a wise man be useful to himself?

A wise man is strong,
And a man of knowledge increases power.

For what advantage does the wise man have over the fool? What advantage does the poor man have, knowing how to walk before the living?

Who is like the wise man and who knows the interpretation of a matter? A man’s wisdom illumines him and causes his stern face to beam.

But there was found in it a poor wise man and he delivered the city by his wisdom. Yet no one remembered that poor man.

A wise man’s heart directs him toward the right, but the foolish man’s heart directs him toward the left.

Who is the wise man that may understand this? And who is he to whom the mouth of the Lord has spoken, that he may declare it? Why is the land ruined, laid waste like a desert, so that no one passes through?

“But come again all of you now,
For I do not find a wise man among you.

“Should a wise man answer with windy knowledge
And fill himself with the east wind?

Do not reprove a scoffer, or he will hate you,
Reprove a wise man and he will love you.

The way of a fool is right in his own eyes,
But a wise man is he who listens to counsel.

A wise man is cautious and turns away from evil,
But a fool is arrogant and careless.

The fury of a king is like messengers of death,
But a wise man will appease it.

A wise man scales the city of the mighty
And brings down the stronghold in which they trust.

A fool always loses his temper,
But a wise man holds it back.

The wise man’s eyes are in his head, but the fool walks in darkness. And yet I know that one fate befalls them both.

And who knows whether he will be a wise man or a fool? Yet he will have control over all the fruit of my labor for which I have labored by acting wisely under the sun. This too is vanity.

It is better to listen to the rebuke of a wise man
Than for one to listen to the song of fools.

For oppression makes a wise man mad,
And a bribe corrupts the heart.

Wisdom strengthens a wise man more than ten rulers who are in a city.

Words from the mouth of a wise man are gracious, while the lips of a fool consume him;

In addition to being a wise man, the Preacher also taught the people knowledge; and he pondered, searched out and arranged many proverbs.

Now therefore, do not let him go unpunished, for you are a wise man; and you will know what you ought to do to him, and you will bring his gray hair down to Sheol with blood.”

The princes of Zoan are mere fools;
The advice of Pharaoh’s wisest advisers has become stupid.
How can you men say to Pharaoh,
“I am a son of the wise, a son of ancient kings”?

“Therefore men fear Him;
He does not regard any who are wise of heart.”

I again saw under the sun that the race is not to the swift and the battle is not to the warriors, and neither is bread to the wise nor wealth to the discerning nor favor to men of ability; for time and chance overtake them all.

Choose wise and discerning and experienced men from your tribes, and I will appoint them as your heads.’

So I took the heads of your tribes, wise and experienced men, and appointed them heads over you, leaders of thousands and of hundreds, of fifties and of tens, and officers for your tribes.

If you are wise, you are wise for yourself,
And if you scoff, you alone will bear it.

When the scoffer is punished, the naive becomes wise;
But when the wise is instructed, he receives knowledge.

A wise son makes a father glad,
But a foolish man despises his mother.

There is precious treasure and oil in the dwelling of the wise,
But a foolish man swallows it up.

Do you see a man wise in his own eyes?
There is more hope for a fool than for him.

The rich man is wise in his own eyes,
But the poor who has understanding sees through him.

Now let Pharaoh look for a man discerning and wise, and set him over the land of Egypt.