Of what ¹  use is money in the hand of a fool, ²  since he has no intention ³  of acquiring wisdom? ⁴ 

biblegateway Pro 17:16

Why is there a price in the hand of a fool to buy wisdom, When he has no sense?

Why does a fool have money in his hand with no intention of buying wisdom?

Why should a fool have money in his hand to buy wisdom when he doesn’t have a mind to grasp anything?

biblegateway Pro 17:16

Of what use is money in the hand of a fool, since he has no desire to get wisdom?

Why should a fool have money in his hand to buy wisdom when he has no sense?

bibleoremus Pro 17:16

Why should fools have a price in hand to buy wisdom, when they have no mind to learn?

What use is money in the hands of a fool? Can he buy wisdom if he has no sense?

biblegateway Pro 17:16

Why is there in the hand of a fool the purchase price of wisdom, Since he has no heart for it ?

Wherefore [is there] a price in the hand of a fool to get wisdom, seeing [he hath] no heart [to it]?

biblegateway Pro 17:16

Of what ¹  use is money in the hand of a fool, ²  since he has no intention ³  of acquiring wisdom? ⁴ 

¹ tn Heb “why this?” The term זֶּה (zeh) is an enclitic use of the demonstrative pronoun for emphasis: “why ever” would this happen?

² sn The sense seems to be “What good is money” since what the fool needs cannot be bought? The verse is a rhetorical question stating that money would be wasted on a fool.

³ tn Heb “there is no heart”; NASB “he has no (+ common TEV) sense”; NLT “has no heart for wisdom.”

⁴ sn W. McKane envisions a situation where the fool comes to a sage with a fee in hand, supposing that he can acquire a career as a sage, and this gives rise to the biting comment here: Why does the fool have money in his hands? To buy wisdom when he has no brains? (Proverbs [OTL], 505).