Proverbs 9:13
in Proverbs 9The woman named Folly is loud; she is naive and knows nothing.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
The foolish woman is clamorous; She is simple, and knoweth nothing.
KJV
A foolish woman is clamorous: she is simple, and knoweth nothing.
⋯
This verse in Proverbs 9
Commentary
8 notes on this verseA foolish woman is clamorous,.... Some by this woman understand folly itself, as opposed to wisdom; others blind reason, ignorant of divine things; others carnal sensual pleasure, which entices and draws men to that which is evil; others heresy and superstition; others the old serpent, the devil; she seems to be the same with the strange woman and harlot before described, Pro 2:16, &c. and being set in direct opposition to Wisdom, or Christ, seems to design antichrist, who is described in the book of the Revelation as the great whore; and all the characters here agree with the same.
This site's exposition
The woman named Folly is loud
on Proverbs 9:13-18
Folly mirrors Wisdom's table, calling the same passersby with the same line, “Whoever is simple, let him turn in here”. The narrator adds what the guest cannot see, “that her guests are in the depths of Sheol,” closing the first nine chapters on the choice.
The record, by era
The Medieval Church1 voice
A foolish woman, clamorous and full of allurements, etc. This woman is heresy, clearly opposed to wisdom, which above sang her sacraments. But she also sits at the doors of her house, that is, in the teachers of falsehood, who introduce the miserable to the …
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
Simple - Ignorant, and weak. A former - He shews whom he meant by the foolish, ver. 6, even scorners and wicked men, and presses his last advice of forsaking them because there was no good, but hurt to be got from them. A scorner - An obstinate and incorrigible sinner.
quarantine:anchor (2026-07-29) — cites-ver-6-anchored-13-17
This tempter is here described to be, 1. Very ignorant: She is simple and knows nothing, that is, she has no sufficient solid reason to offer; where she gets dominion in a soul she works out all the knowledge of holy things; they are lost and forgotten.
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
The picture of the harlot as the representative of the sensual life, the Folly between which and Wisdom the young man has to make his choice (Pro 9:3 note). “Simple,” in the worst sense, as open to all forms of evil. “Knoweth nothing,” ignorant with the ignorance which is willful and reckless.
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
foolish woman--or literally, "woman of folly," specially manifested by such as are described. clamorous--or, "noisy" (Pr 7:11). knoweth nothing--literally, "knoweth not what," that is, is right and proper.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — starts-lowercase
1 more voice on this verse
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A foolish woman is clamorous - Vain, empty women, are those that make most noise. And she that is full of clamor, has generally little or no sense. We have had this character already, see Pro 7:11. The translation of the Septuagint is very remarkable: Γυνη αφρων και θρασεια, ενδεης ψωμου γινεται, “A lewd and foolish woman shall be in need of a morsel of bread.”
The words behind it
7 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| אֵ֣שֶׁת | ʾeshet | a woman of | H802 → | 781 times |
| כְּ֭סִילוּת | kesilut | folly | H3687 → | |
| הֹֽמִיָּ֑ה | homiyah | [is] boisterous | H1993 → | 34 times |
| פְּ֝תַיּ֗וּת | petaiyut | naivete | H6615 → | |
| וּבַל־ | uval- | and not | H1077 → | 73 times |
| יָ֥דְעָה | yadeah | she knows | H3045 → | 945 times |
| מָּֽה׃ | mah | whatever | H4100 → | 752 times |
אֵ֣שֶׁתa woman of
ʾeshetH802 →781 times
כְּ֭סִילוּתfolly
kesilutH3687 →
הֹֽמִיָּ֑ה[is] boisterous
homiyahH1993 →34 times
פְּ֝תַיּ֗וּתnaivete
petaiyutH6615 →
וּבַל־and not
uval-H1077 →73 times
יָ֥דְעָהshe knows
yadeahH3045 →945 times
מָּֽה׃whatever
mahH4100 →752 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
Proverbs 21:19Better to live in the desert than with a contentious and ill-tempered wife.
it leads to
- Proverbs 21:9
Better to live on a corner of the roof than to share a house with a quarrelsome wife.
- Proverbs 21:9
Through
Proverbs 21:9Better to live on a corner of the roof than to share a house with a quarrelsome wife.
it leads to
- Proverbs 19:13
A foolish son is his father’s ruin, and a quarrelsome wife is like a constant dripping.
- Proverbs 21:19
Better to live in the desert than with a contentious and ill-tempered wife.
- Proverbs 25:24
Better to live on a corner of the roof than to share a house with a quarrelsome wife.
- Proverbs 27:15–16
A constant dripping on a rainy day and a contentious woman are alike—
- Proverbs 12:4
A wife of noble character is her husband’s crown, but she who causes shame is like decay in his bones.
- Proverbs 19:13
Through
1 Timothy 6:4he is conceited and understands nothing. Instead, he has an unhealthy interest in controversies and semantics, out of which come envy, strife, abusive talk, evil suspicions,
it leads to
- 2 Timothy 2:23
But reject foolish and ignorant speculation, for you know that it breeds quarreling.
- 2 Timothy 3:4
traitorous, reckless, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God,
- 2 Timothy 2:23
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies4
On this verse
On this chapter
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; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament; John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.