Proverbs 15:14
in Proverbs 15A discerning heart seeks knowledge, but the mouth of a fool feeds on folly.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
The heart of him that hath understanding seeketh knowledge; But the mouth of fools feedeth on folly.
KJV
The heart of him that hath understanding seeketh knowledge: but the mouth of fools feedeth on foolishness.
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This verse in Proverbs 15
Commentary
4 notes on this verseA wise man not satisfied with his wisdom, but still seeking the increase of it; the more he has the more he would have: The heart of him that has understanding, rejoices so in the knowledge it has attained to that it is still coveting more, and in the use of the means of knowledge is still labouring for more, growing in grace, and in the knowledge of Christ.
This site's exposition
A joyful heart makes a cheerful countenance
on Proverbs 15:13-15
“A joyful heart makes a cheerful countenance,” while “sorrow of the heart crushes the spirit”. “A discerning heart seeks knowledge,” while “the mouth of a fool feeds on folly”. “All the days of the oppressed are bad,” yet “a cheerful heart has a continual feast,” the heart outweighing the circumstances.
This site's exposition
A discerning heart seeks knowledge
Both lines speak of appetite, the heart hunting for knowledge and the mouth grazing on folly. Matthew Henry reads the discerning heart as never satisfied with its wisdom, wanting more the more it has. The fool is content with his fodder.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
The heart of him that hath understanding seeketh knowledge,....
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
On the verses either side of this one
All the days of a poor man are wretched Even Sabbaths and festivals, as Samuel said. A change of diet is the beginning of intestinal disorders.
This section is reception history: how the passage was read and kept in the Jewish tradition. Where a reading parts from an essential of the Christian faith, the section says so at that point.
Texts and citation data: Sefaria; each excerpt follows its version’s licence. 4 further sources are cited on this chapter that carry no English text this site may quote or only restate the verse.
The words behind it
8 Hebrew wordsEvery 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.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| לֵ֣ב | lev | a heart | H3820 → | 595 times |
| נָ֭בוֹן | navon | discerning | H995 → | 170 times |
| יְבַקֶּשׁ־ | yevakesh- | it seeks | H1245 → | 225 times |
| דָּ֑עַת | daat | knowledge | H1847 → | 92 times |
| וּפִ֥י | ufenei | and [the] mouth of | H6310 → | 498 times |
| כְ֝סִילִ֗ים | khesilim | fools | H3684 → | 70 times |
| יִרְעֶ֥ה | yireh | it feeds on | H7462 → | 177 times |
| אִוֶּֽלֶת׃ | ʾivelet | foolishness | H200 → | 25 times |
לֵ֣בa heart
levH3820 →595 times
נָ֭בוֹןdiscerning
navonH995 →170 times
יְבַקֶּשׁ־it seeks
yevakesh-H1245 →225 times
דָּ֑עַתknowledge
daatH1847 →92 times
וּפִ֥יand [the] mouth of
ufeneiH6310 →498 times
כְ֝סִילִ֗יםfools
khesilimH3684 →70 times
יִרְעֶ֥הit feeds on
yirehH7462 →177 times
אִוֶּֽלֶת׃foolishness
ʾiveletH200 →25 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach 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
2 Peter 3:18But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To Him be the glory both now and to the day of eternity. Amen.
it leads to
- Colossians 1:10
so that you may walk in a manner worthy of the Lord and may please Him in every way: bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God,
- Ephesians 4:15
Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will in all things grow up into Christ Himself, who is the head.
- 1 Peter 2:2
Like newborn babies, crave pure spiritual milk, so that by it you may grow up in your salvation,
- Colossians 3:10
and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge in the image of its Creator.
- Colossians 1:10
Through
Acts 17:11Now the Bereans were more noble-minded than the Thessalonians, for they received the message with great eagerness and examined the Scriptures every day to see if these teachings were true.
it leads to
- Isaiah 34:16
Search and read the scroll of the LORD: Not one of these will go missing, not one will lack her mate, because He has ordered it by His mouth, and He will gather them…
- Proverbs 2:1–5
My son, if you accept my words and hide my commandments within you,
- John 5:39
You pore over the Scriptures because you presume that by them you possess eternal life. These are the very words that testify about Me,
- Isaiah 34:16
Through
Proverbs 9:9Instruct a wise man, and he will be wiser still; teach a righteous man, and he will increase his learning.
it leads to
- Proverbs 1:5
let the wise listen and gain instruction, and the discerning acquire wise counsel
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Proverbs 1:5
Where this verse is studied
About Proverbs
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.