Roma 1:22

1:22 Although they claimed ¹  to be wise, they became fools

Roma 1:28

1:28 And just as they did not see fit to acknowledge God, ²  God gave them over to a depraved mind, to do what should not be done. ³ 

Mazmur 14:2-4

14:2 The Lord looks down from heaven ⁴  at the human race, ⁵ 

to see if there is anyone who is wise ⁶  and seeks God. ⁷ 

14:3 Everyone rejects God; ⁸ 

they are all morally corrupt. ⁹ 

None of them does what is right, ¹⁰ 

not even one!

14:4 All those who behave wickedly ¹¹  do not understand – ¹² 

those who devour my people as if they were eating bread,

and do not call out to the Lord.

Mazmur 53:2

53:2 God looks down from heaven ¹³  at the human race, ¹⁴ 

to see if there is anyone who is wise ¹⁵  and seeks God. ¹⁶ 

Mazmur 53:4

53:4 All those who behave wickedly ¹⁷  do not understand ¹⁸  –

those who devour my people as if they were eating bread,

and do not call out to God.

Mazmur 94:8

94:8 Take notice of this, ¹⁹  you ignorant people! ²⁰ 

You fools, when will you ever understand?

Amsal 1:7

Introduction to the Theme of the Book

1:7 Fearing the Lord ²¹  is the beginning ²²  of moral knowledge, ²³ 

but ²⁴  fools ²⁵  despise ²⁶  wisdom and instruction. ²⁷ 

Amsal 1:22

1:22 “How long will you simpletons ²⁸  love naiveté? ²⁹ 

How long ³⁰  will mockers ³¹  delight ³²  in mockery ³³ 

and fools ³⁴  hate knowledge?

Amsal 1:29-30

1:29 Because ³⁵  they hated moral knowledge, ³⁶ 

and did not choose to fear the Lord, ³⁷ 

1:30 they did not comply with my advice,

they spurned ³⁸  all my rebuke.

Yesaya 27:11

27:11 When its branches get brittle, ³⁹  they break;

women come and use them for kindling. ⁴⁰ 

For these people lack understanding, ⁴¹ 

therefore the one who made them has no compassion on them;

the one who formed them has no mercy on them.

Yeremia 4:22

4:22 The Lord answered, ⁴² 

“This will happen ⁴³  because my people are foolish.

They do not know me.

They are like children who have no sense. ⁴⁴ 

They have no understanding.

They are skilled at doing evil.

They do not know how to do good.”

Hosea 4:6

4:6 You have destroyed ⁴⁵  my people

by failing to acknowledge me!

Because you refuse to acknowledge me, ⁴⁶ 

I will reject you as my priests.

Because you reject ⁴⁷  the law of your God,

I will reject ⁴⁸  your descendants.

Matius 13:13-14

13:13 For this reason I speak to them in parables: Although they see they do not see, and although they hear they do not hear nor do they understand. 13:14 And concerning them the prophecy of Isaiah is fulfilled that says:

‘You will listen carefully ⁴⁹  yet will never understand,

you will look closely ⁵⁰  yet will never comprehend.

Matius 13:19

13:19 When anyone hears the word about the kingdom and does not understand it, the evil one ⁵¹  comes and snatches what was sown in his heart; ⁵²  this is the seed sown along the path.

Titus 3:3

3:3 For we too were once foolish, disobedient, misled, enslaved to various passions and desires, spending our lives in evil and envy, hateful and hating one another.

Titus 3:1

Conduct Toward Those Outside the Church

3:1 Remind them to be subject to rulers and ⁵³  authorities, to be obedient, to be ready for every good work.

Yohanes 5:20

5:20 For the Father loves the Son and shows him everything he does, and will show him greater deeds than these, so that you will be amazed.

[1:22]  ¹ tn The participle φάσκοντες (faskonte") is used concessively here.

[1:28]  ² tn Grk “and just as they did not approve to have God in knowledge.”

[1:28]  ³ tn Grk “the things that are improper.”

[14:2]  ⁴ sn The picture of the Lord looking down from heaven draws attention to his sovereignty over the world.

[14:2]  ⁵ tn Heb “upon the sons of man.”

[14:2]  ⁶ tn Or “acts wisely.” The Hiphil is exhibitive.

[14:2]  ⁷ sn Anyone who is wise and seeks God refers to the person who seeks to have a relationship with God by obeying and worshiping him.

[14:3]  ⁸ tn Heb “everyone turns aside.”

[14:3]  ⁹ tn Heb “together they are corrupt.”

[14:3]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “there is none that does good.”

[14:4]  ¹¹ tn Heb “all the workers of wickedness.” See Pss 5:5; 6:8.

[14:4]  ¹² tn Heb “Do they not understand?” The rhetorical question (rendered in the translation as a positive affirmation) expresses the psalmist’s amazement at their apparent lack of understanding. This may refer to their lack of moral understanding, but it more likely refers to their failure to anticipate God’s defense of his people (see vv. 5-7).

[53:2]  ¹³ sn The picture of the Lord looking down from heaven draws attention to his sovereignty over the world.

[53:2]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “upon the sons of man.”

[53:2]  ¹⁵ tn Or “acts wisely.” The Hiphil is exhibitive.

[53:2]  ¹⁶ tn That is, who seeks to have a relationship with God by obeying and worshiping him.

[53:4]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “the workers of wickedness.” See Pss 5:5; 6:8. Ps 14:4 adds כֹּל (kol, “all of”) before “workers of wickedness.”

[53:4]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “Do they not understand?” The rhetorical question expresses the psalmist’s amazement at their apparent lack of understanding. This may refer to their lack of moral understanding, but it more likely refers to their failure to anticipate God’s defense of his people (see vv. 5-6).

[94:8]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “understand.” The verb used in v. 7 is repeated here for rhetorical effect. The people referred to here claim God is ignorant of their actions, but the psalmist corrects their faulty viewpoint.

[94:8]  ²⁰ tn Heb “[you] brutish among the people.”

[1:7]  ²¹ tn Heb “fear of the Lord.” The expression יְהוָה יִרְאַת (yir’at yÿhvah, “fear of Yahweh”) is a genitive-construct in which יְהוָה (“the Lord”) functions as an objective genitive: He is the object of fear. The term יָרַא (yara’) is the common word for fear in the OT and has a basic three-fold range of meanings: (1) “dread; terror” (Deut 1:29; Jonah 1:10), (2) “to stand in awe” (1 Kgs 3:28), (3) “to revere; to respect” (Lev 19:3). With the Lord as the object, it captures the polar opposites of shrinking back in fear and drawing close in awe and adoration. Both categories of meaning appear in Exod 20:20 (where the Lord descended upon Sinai amidst geophysical convulsions); Moses encouraged the Israelites to not be afraid of God arbitrarily striking them dead for no reason (“Do not fear!”) but informed the people that the Lord revealed himself in such a terrifying manner to scare them from sinning (“God has come only to test you and to put the fear of him in you so that you do not sin”). The fear of the Lord is expressed in reverential submission to his will – the characteristic of true worship. The fear of the Lord is the foundation for wisdom (9:10) and the discipline leading to wisdom (15:33). It is expressed in hatred of evil (8:13) and avoidance of sin (16:6), and so results in prolonged life (10:27; 19:23).

[1:7]  ²² tn The noun רֵאשִׁית (re’shit) has a two-fold range of meaning (BDB 912 s.v.): (1) “beginning” = first step in a course of action (e.g., Ps 111:10; Prov 17:14; Mic 1:13) or (2) “chief thing” as the principal aspect of something (e.g., Prov 4:7). So fearing the Lord is either (1) the first step in acquiring moral knowledge or (2) the most important aspect of moral knowledge. The first option is preferred because 1:2-6 focuses on the acquisition of wisdom.

[1:7]  ²³ tn Heb “knowledge.” The noun דָּעַת (da’at, “knowledge”) refers to experiential knowledge, not just cognitive knowledge, including the intellectual assimilation and practical application (BDB 394 s.v.). It is used in parallelism to מוּסָר (musar, “instruction, discipline”) and חָכְמָה (khokhmah, “wisdom, moral skill”).

[1:7]  ²⁴ tn The conjunction “but” does not appear in the Hebrew text, but is implied by the antithetical parallelism. It is supplied in the translation for clarity.

[1:7]  ²⁵ tn The term אֱוִיל (’evil, “fool”) refers to a person characterized by moral folly (BDB 17 s.v.). Fools lack understanding (10:21), do not store up knowledge (10:14), fail to attain wisdom (24:7), and refuse correction (15:5; 27:22). They are arrogant (26:5), talk loosely (14:3) and are contentious (20:3). They might have mental intelligence but they are morally foolish. In sum, they are stubborn and “thick-brained” (J. H. Greenstone, Proverbs, 6).

[1:7]  ²⁶ tn The verb of בָּזָה (bazah, “despise”) means to treat things of value with contempt, as if they were worthless (BDB 102 s.v.). The classic example is Esau who despised his birthright and sold it for lentil stew (Gen 25:34). The perfect tense of this verb may be classified as characteristic perfect (what they have done and currently do) or gnomic perfect (what they always do in past, present and future). The latter is preferred; this describes a trait of fools, and elsewhere the book says that fools do not change.

[1:7]  ²⁷ sn Hebrew word order is emphatic here. Normal word order is: verb + subject + direct object. Here it is: direct object + subject + verb (“wisdom and instruction fools despise”).

[1:22]  ²⁸ tn Wisdom addresses three types of people: simpletons (פְּתָיִם, pÿtayim), scoffers (לֵצִים, letsim) and fools (כְּסִילִים, kÿsilim). For the term “simpleton” see note on 1:4. Each of these three types of people is satisfied with the life being led and will not listen to reason. See J. A. Emerton, “A Note on the Hebrew Text of Proverbs 1:22-23,” JTS 19 (1968): 609-14.

[1:22]  ²⁹ tn Heb “simplicity” (so KJV, NASB); NAB “inanity.” The noun פֶּתִי (peti) means “simplicity; lack of wisdom” (BDB 834 s.v.; HALOT 989 s.v. II פֶּתִי). It is related to the term פְּתָיִם (pÿtayim) “simpletons” and so forms a striking wordplay. This lack of wisdom and moral simplicity is inherent in the character of the naive person.

[1:22]  ³⁰ tn The second instance of “How long?” does not appear in the Hebrew text; it is supplied in the translation for smoothness and style.

[1:22]  ³¹ sn The term לֵצִים (leysim, “scoffers; mockers”) comes from the root לִיץ (lits, “to scorn; to mock; to speak indirectly” (BDB 539 s.v. לִיץ). They are cynical and defiant freethinkers who ridicule the righteous and all for which they stand (e.g., Ps 1:1).

[1:22]  ³² tn Heb “delight.” The verb (חָמַד, khamad) is often translated “to take pleasure; to delight” but frequently has the meaning of a selfish desire, a coveting of something. It is the term, for example, used for coveting in the Decalogue (Exod 20:17; Deut 5:21) and for the covetous desire of Eve (Gen 3:6) and Achan (Josh 7:21). It is tempting to nuance it here as “illicit desire” for mockery.

[1:22]  ³³ tn Heb “for themselves.” The ethical dative לָהֶם (lahem, “for themselves”) is normally untranslated. It is a rhetorical device emphasizing that they take delight in mockery for their own self-interests.

[1:22]  ³⁴ sn The term “fool” (כְּסִיל, kÿsil) refers to the morally insensitive dullard (BDB 493 s.v.).

[1:29]  ³⁵ tn The causal particle תַּחַת כִּי (takhat ki, “for the reason that”) introduces a second accusation of sin and reason for punishment.

[1:29]  ³⁶ tn Heb “knowledge.” The noun דָעַת (da’at, “knowledge”) refers to moral knowledge. See note on 1:7.

[1:29]  ³⁷ tn Heb “the fear of the Lord.” The noun is an objective genitive; the Lord is to be the object of fear. See note on 1:7.

[1:30]  ³⁸ tn The verb “spurned” (נָאַץ, na’ats) is parallel to “comply, accede to, be willing” (e.g., 1:10). This is how the morally stubborn fool acts (e.g., 15:5).

[27:11]  ³⁹ tn Heb “are dry” (so NASB, NIV, NRSV).

[27:11]  ⁴⁰ tn Heb “women come [and] light it.” The city is likened to a dead tree with dried up branches that is only good for firewood.

[27:11]  ⁴¹ tn Heb “for not a people of understanding [is] he.”

[4:22]  ⁴² tn These words are not in the text but are supplied in the translation to show clearly the shift in speaker. Jeremiah has been speaking; now the Lord answers, giving the reason for the devastation Jeremiah foresees.

[4:22]  ⁴³ tn Heb “For….” This gives the explanation for the destruction envisaged in 4:20 to which Jeremiah responds in 4:19, 21.

[4:22]  ⁴⁴ tn Heb “They are senseless children.”

[4:6]  ⁴⁵ tn Heb “they have destroyed” or “my people are destroyed” (so KJV, NIV, NRSV).

[4:6]  ⁴⁶ tn Heb “Because you reject knowledge”; NLT “because they don’t know me.”

[4:6]  ⁴⁷ tn Heb “have forgotten”; NAB, NIV “have ignored.”

[4:6]  ⁴⁸ tn Heb “forget” (so KJV, NRSV); NLT “forget to bless.”

[13:14]  ⁴⁹ tn Grk “with hearing,” a cognate dative that intensifies the action of the main verb “you will listen” (ExSyn 168-69).

[13:14]  ⁵⁰ tn Grk “look by looking.” The participle is redundant, functioning to intensify the force of the main verb.

[13:19]  ⁵¹ sn Interestingly, the synoptic parallels each use a different word for Satan here: Mark 4:15 has “Satan,” while Luke 8:12 has “the devil.” This illustrates the fluidity of the gospel tradition in often using synonyms at the same point of the parallel tradition.

[13:19]  ⁵² sn The word of Jesus has the potential to save if it germinates in a person’s heart, something the devil is very much against.

[3:1]  ⁵³ tc Most later witnesses (D² 0278 Ï lat sy) have καί (kai, “and”) after ἀρχαῖς (arcai", “rulers”), though the earliest and best witnesses (א A C D* F G Ψ 33 104 1739 1881) lack the conjunction. Although the καί is most likely not authentic, it has been added in translation due to the requirements of English style. For more discussion, see TCGNT 586.