Proverbs 17:24
in Proverbs 17Wisdom is the focus of the discerning, but the eyes of a fool wander to the ends of the earth.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Wisdom is before the face of him that hath understanding; But the eyes of a fool are in the ends of the earth.
KJV
Wisdom is before him that hath understanding; but the eyes of a fool are in the ends of the earth.
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This verse in Proverbs 17
Commentary
5 notes on this verseA commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
Before him - Set straight before his eyes as the mark to which they look. Others, following the Septuagint and Vulgate, interpret the verse, Wisdom is seen in the clear, stedfast look of the wise man as contrasted with the wandering gaze of the fool.
This site's exposition
Wisdom is the focus of the discerning
on Proverbs 17:24-26
Wisdom is the focus of the discerning, while "the eyes of a fool wander to the ends of the earth," a contrast of attention. To punish the innocent or to flog a noble is named "surely not good," an injustice the chapter states without any qualifying clause.
The record, by era
The Medieval Church1 voice
In the face of the prudent, wisdom shines, etc. Indeed, in the face of the Lord Savior, the wisdom of divinity shone, which, appearing in the flesh, He demonstrated through the testimony of virtues and doctrine; but the eyes of unbelieving Jews were focused more …
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
Wisdom is before him that hath understanding,.... Is near him, to direct and assist him; it is before him as a rule to walk by, and it is the mark he aims at.
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
Are in the ends of the earth - Wisdom is within the sight and reach at every man: but he whose desires are scattered abroad, who is always aiming at impossible things, or is of an unsteady disposition, is not likely to find it.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| אֶת־ | ʾet- | [is] with | H854 → | 929 times |
| פְּנֵ֣י | penei | [the] face of | H6440 → | 2123 times |
| מֵבִ֣ין | mevin | [one who] has understanding | H995 → | 170 times |
| חָכְמָ֑ה | chokhmah | wisdom | H2451 → | 153 times |
| וְעֵינֵ֥י | veeinei | and [the] eyes of | H5869 → | 887 times |
| כְ֝סִ֗יל | khesil | a fool | H3684 → | 70 times |
| בִּקְצֵה־ | biktzeh- | [are] at [the] end of | H7097 → | |
| אָֽרֶץ׃ | ʾaretz | [the] earth | H776 → | 2504 times |
אֶת־[is] with
ʾet-H854 →929 times
פְּנֵ֣י[the] face of
peneiH6440 →2123 times
מֵבִ֣ין[one who] has understanding
mevinH995 →170 times
חָכְמָ֑הwisdom
chokhmahH2451 →153 times
וְעֵינֵ֥יand [the] eyes of
veeineiH5869 →887 times
כְ֝סִ֗ילa fool
khesilH3684 →70 times
בִּקְצֵה־[are] at [the] end of
biktzeh-H7097 →
אָֽרֶץ׃[the] earth
ʾaretzH776 →2504 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
Psalms 119:37Turn my eyes away from worthless things; revive me with Your word.
it leads to
- 1 John 2:16
For all that is in the world—the desires of the flesh, the desires of the eyes, and the pride of life—is not from the Father but from the world.
- Proverbs 4:25
Let your eyes look forward; fix your gaze straight ahead.
- Isaiah 33:15
He who walks righteously and speaks with sincerity, who refuses gain from extortion, whose hand never takes a bribe, who stops his ears against murderous plots and shuts his eyes tightly against evil—
- Numbers 15:39
These will serve as tassels for you to look at, so that you may remember all the commandments of the LORD, that you may obey them and not prostitute yourselves by following your own…
- Job 31:1
“I have made a covenant with my eyes. How then could I gaze with desire at a virgin?
- 1 John 2:16
Through
John 7:17If anyone desires to do His will, he will know whether My teaching is from God or whether I speak on My own.
it leads to
- John 8:31–32
So He said to the Jews who had believed Him, “If you continue in My word, you are truly My disciples.
- John 8:43
Why do you not understand what I am saying? It is because you are unable to accept My message.
- Jeremiah 31:33–34
“But this is the covenant I will make with the house of Israel after those days, declares the LORD. I will put My law in their minds and inscribe it on their hearts. And…
- John 8:31–32
Where this verse is studied
About Proverbs
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.