Proverbs 23:9
in Proverbs 23Do not speak to a fool, for he will despise the wisdom of your words.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Speak not in the hearing of a fool; For he will despise the wisdom of thy words.
KJV
Speak not in the ears of a fool: for he will despise the wisdom of thy words.
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This verse in Proverbs 23
Commentary
4 notes on this verseDo not speak in the ears of fools, etc. This is similar to that of the Gospel, Do not give what is holy to dogs, nor cast your pearls before swine, etc. (Matthew 7:6). Just as he previously admonished not to listen to the doctrines …
This site's exposition
Do not speak to a fool
"Do not speak to a fool, for he will despise the wisdom of your words" matches the pearls-before-swine counsel the tradition drew from it. The fool's contempt lies in the fixed condition of the hearer, and the speaker's argument is not at fault. The verse teaches discernment about the audience.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
Speak not in the ears of a fool,.... For it is only beating the air, and speaking to the wind; it is casting pearls before swine, and that which is holy to dogs.
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
The “fool” here is one willfully and persistently deaf to it, almost identical with the scorner.
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
On the verses either side of this one
and..the fields of the orphans The gleanings, the forgotten sheaves, and the corner that is due them.
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. 3 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| בְּאָזְנֵ֣י | beazenei | in [the] ears of | H241 → | 187 times |
| כְ֭סִיל | khesil | a fool | H3684 → | 70 times |
| אַל־ | ʾal- | may not | H408 → | 724 times |
| תְּדַבֵּ֑ר | tedaber | you speak | H1696 → | 1141 times |
| כִּֽי־ | ki- | for | H3588 → | 4482 times |
| יָ֝ב֗וּז | yavuz | he will despise | H936 → | 12 times |
| לְשֵׂ֣כֶל | lesekhel | <to> [the] insight of | H7922 → | 16 times |
| מִלֶּֽיךָ׃ | mileikha | words your | H4405 → |
בְּאָזְנֵ֣יin [the] ears of
beazeneiH241 →187 times
כְ֭סִילa fool
khesilH3684 →70 times
אַל־may not
ʾal-H408 →724 times
תְּדַבֵּ֑רyou speak
tedaberH1696 →1141 times
כִּֽי־for
ki-H3588 →4482 times
יָ֝ב֗וּזhe will despise
yavuzH936 →12 times
לְשֵׂ֣כֶל<to> [the] insight of
lesekhelH7922 →16 times
מִלֶּֽיךָ׃words your
mileikhaH4405 →
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
Proverbs 1:7The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and discipline.
it leads to
- Job 28:28
And He said to man, ‘Behold, the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom, and to turn away from evil is understanding.’”
- Psalms 111:10
The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom; all who follow His precepts gain rich understanding. His praise endures forever!
- Ecclesiastes 12:13
When all has been heard, the conclusion of the matter is this: Fear God and keep His commandments, because this is the whole duty of man.
- Proverbs 9:10
The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom, and knowledge of the Holy One is understanding.
- Proverbs 15:33
The fear of the LORD is the instruction of wisdom, and humility comes before honor.
- Job 28:28
Through
Matthew 7:6Do not give dogs what is holy; do not throw your pearls before swine. If you do, they may trample them under their feet, and then turn and tear you to pieces.
it leads to
- Proverbs 9:7–8
He who corrects a mocker brings shame on himself; he who rebukes a wicked man taints himself.
- Matthew 10:14–15
And if anyone will not welcome you or heed your words, shake the dust off your feet when you leave that home or town.
- Proverbs 26:11
As a dog returns to its vomit, so a fool repeats his folly.
- Proverbs 9:7–8
Where this verse is studied
On this page
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 and John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763).