Proverbs 9:16
in Proverbs 9“Whoever is simple, let him turn in here!” she says to him who lacks judgment.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Whoso is simple, let him turn in hither; And as for him that is void of understanding, she saith to him,
KJV
Whoso is simple, let him turn in hither: and as for him that wanteth understanding, she saith to him,
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This verse in Proverbs 9
Commentary
6 notes on this verseWhoso is simple, let him turn in hither - Folly or pleasure here personified, uses the very same expressions as employed by Wisdom, Pro 9:4. Wisdom says, “Let the simple turn in to me.” No, says Folly, “Let the simple turn in to me.” If he turn in to Wisdom, his folly shall be taken away and he shall become wise; if he turn in to Foliy, his darkness will be thickened, and his folly will remain. Wisdom sets up her school to instruct the ignorant: Folly sets her school up next door, to defeat the designs of Wisdom.
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.
This site's exposition
Whoever is simple, let him turn in here!
Clarke pictures Folly setting up her school next door to Wisdom's to defeat its work. The simple man who turns in to Wisdom loses his folly, and the one who turns in to Folly finds his darkness thickened. The words are the same.
The record, by era
The Medieval Church1 voice
Whoever is simple, let him turn here, etc. Wisdom also seems to invite the little ones and the foolish to her feast with nearly the same words; but it differs, as she simply asks them to come to her, whereas this one urges them to …
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
Whoso is simple, let him turn in hither,.... The harlot's house, Popish chapels and churches.
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
and whoever is devoid of sense (lit. and one devoid of sense.) and she says to him these words. What does she say to him?
1 more on this passage, in their own words ▾
Stolen water is sweet The pleasure afforded by intimacy with a single woman does not equal that afforded by intimacy with a married woman. Also, regarding the commandments (other editions: sectarianism), stolen water is sweet, for they were afraid to do it in public, but did it in secret.
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. 2 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| מִי־ | mi- | who? | H4310 → | 423 times |
| פֶ֭תִי | feti | [is] naive | H6612 → | 19 times |
| יָסֻ֣ר | yasur | let him turn aside | H5493 → | 299 times |
| הֵ֑נָּה | henah | here | H2008 → | 49 times |
| וַחֲסַר־ | vachasar- | and [one] lacking of | H2638 → | 17 times |
| לֵ֝֗ב | lev | heart | H3820 → | 595 times |
| וְאָ֣מְרָה | veamerah | and she says | H559 → | 5305 times |
| לּֽוֹ׃ | lo | to him |
מִי־who?
mi-H4310 →423 times
פֶ֭תִי[is] naive
fetiH6612 →19 times
יָסֻ֣רlet him turn aside
yasurH5493 →299 times
הֵ֑נָּהhere
henahH2008 →49 times
וַחֲסַר־and [one] lacking of
vachasar-H2638 →17 times
לֵ֝֗בheart
levH3820 →595 times
וְאָ֣מְרָהand she says
veamerahH559 →5305 times
לּֽוֹ׃to him
lo
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
5 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 9:4“Whoever is simple, let him turn in here!” she says to him who lacks judgment.
it leads to
- Proverbs 6:32
He who commits adultery lacks judgment; whoever does so destroys himself.
- Matthew 11:25
At 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.
- Proverbs 8:5
O simple ones, learn to be shrewd; O fools, gain understanding.
- Proverbs 1:22
“How long, O simple ones, will you love your simple ways? How long will scoffers delight in their scorn and fools hate knowledge?
- Psalms 119:130
The unfolding of Your words gives light; it informs the simple.
- Proverbs 6:32
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; Bede, Commentary on Proverbs; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.