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Proverbs 14:6

in Proverbs 14

A mocker seeks wisdom and finds none, but knowledge comes easily to the discerning.

BSB

The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾

ASV

A scoffer seeketh wisdom, and findeth it not; But knowledge is easy unto him that hath understanding.

KJV

A scorner seeketh wisdom, and findeth it not: but knowledge is easy unto him that understandeth.

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This verse in Proverbs 14

Commentary

5 notes on this verse

A commentator

Bede

Commentary on Proverbs · Written before 735.

The mocker seeks wisdom, etc. Caiaphas, who said to the Lord, "I adjure you by the living God, tell us if you are the Christ"; because he sought badly, he did not deserve to find what he sought. But the disciples, who humbly submitted to …

This site's exposition

A mocker seeks wisdom and finds none

on Proverbs 14:6-9

“A mocker seeks wisdom and finds none” because he wants the reputation without the discipline, while “knowledge comes easily to the discerning”. Leaving a foolish man's company is wisdom, since “you will gain no knowledge from his speech”. “Fools mock the making of amends,” treating guilt itself as a joke.

The record, by era

The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice

A scorner seeketh wisdom, and findeth it not,....

The Nineteenth Century2 voices

A commentator

Adam Clarke

1762–1832

Commentary on the Bible · Written before 1832.

proposed

A scorner seeketh wisdom - I believe the scorner means, in this book, the man that despises the counsel of God; the infidel. Such may seek wisdom; but he never can find it, because he does not seek it where it is to be found; neither in the teaching of God’s Spirit, nor in the revelation of his will.
Findeth it not - literally, there is none. The successful pursuit of wisdom presupposes at least earnestness and reverence. The scoffer shuts himself out from the capacity of recognizing truth.

The words behind it

7 Hebrew words

Every Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.

  • בִּקֶּשׁ־he seeks

    bikesh-H1245 →225 times

  • לֵ֣ץa mocker

    letzH3887 →28 times

  • חָכְמָ֣הwisdom

    chokhmahH2451 →153 times

  • וָאָ֑יִןand there [is] not

    vaayinH369 →789 times

  • וְדַ֖עַתand knowledge

    vedaatH1847 →92 times

  • לְנָב֣וֹןto a discerning [person]

    lenavonH995 →170 times

  • נָקָֽל׃it is trifling

    nakalH7043 →82 times

A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.

Related verses

18 in all, six open

The number beside each verse is how many compiled reference works tie it to this one. The strongest six stand open.

1 Corinthians 2:14The natural man does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God. For they are foolishness to him, and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually discerned.17 works2 Timothy 3:7who are always learning but never able to come to a knowledge of the truth.9 worksJames 1:5Now if any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him.7 worksMatthew 13:11–12He replied, “The knowledge of the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven has been given to you, but not to them.6 worksProverbs 8:9They are all plain to the discerning, and upright to those who find knowledge.6 worksProverbs 24:7Wisdom is too high for a fool; he does not open his mouth in the meeting place.6 works
The other 12 cross-references, with their words ▾
1 Corinthians 3:18–19Let no one deceive himself. If any of you thinks he is wise in this age, he should become a fool, so that he may become wise.4 worksMatthew 11:25–27At that time Jesus declared, “I praise You, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because You have hidden these things from the wise and learned, and revealed them to little children.4 worksProverbs 13:1A wise son heeds his father’s discipline, but a mocker does not listen to rebuke.4 works1 Corinthians 8:2The one who thinks he knows something does not yet know as he ought to know.3 worksProverbs 17:24Wisdom is the focus of the discerning, but the eyes of a fool wander to the ends of the earth.3 works2 Peter 3:3Most importantly, you must understand that in the last days scoffers will come, scoffing and following their own evil desires.3 worksAmos 8:12People will stagger from sea to sea and roam from north to east, seeking the word of the LORD, but they will not find it.3 worksRomans 1:21–28For although they knew God, they neither glorified Him as God nor gave thanks to Him, but they became futile in their thinking and darkened in their foolish hearts.2 worksProverbs 26:12Do you see a man who is wise in his own eyes? There is more hope for a fool than for him.2 worksJeremiah 8:9The wise will be put to shame; they will be dismayed and trapped. Since they have rejected the word of the LORD, what wisdom do they really have?2 worksPsalms 119:98–100Your commandments make me wiser than my enemies, for they are always with me.2 worksIsaiah 8:20To the law and to the testimony! If they do not speak according to this word, they have no light of dawn.2 works

The walk

8 stops

Each card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.

  • Through

    James 1:5

    Now if any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him.

    it leads to

    • Proverbs 2:3–6

      if you truly call out to insight and lift your voice to understanding,

    • John 15:7

      If you remain in Me and My words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you.

    • Jeremiah 29:12–13

      Then you will call upon Me and come and pray to Me, and I will listen to you.

    • Proverbs 3:5–7

      Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding;

    • 1 John 5:14–15

      And this is the confidence that we have before Him: If we ask anything according to His will, He hears us.

  • Through

    1 Corinthians 8:2

    The one who thinks he knows something does not yet know as he ought to know.

    it leads to

    • 1 Corinthians 13:12

      Now we see but a dim reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known.

    • 1 Corinthians 3:18

      Let no one deceive himself. If any of you thinks he is wise in this age, he should become a fool, so that he may become wise.

    • Proverbs 26:12

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

Where this verse is studied

About Proverbs

The Judgment of Solomon, Gustave Doré, 1866. Public domain.
The Judgment of Solomon, Gustave Doré, 1866. Public domain.
Proverbs: the study guide →Read Proverbs 14 →

This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Bede, Commentary on Proverbs; Charles Bridges, An Exposition of the Book of Proverbs; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.

Read on in Proverbs 14 →