PROV 1:22 Interlinear View

SIL Open Translator’s Notes:

Section 1:20–33: Wisdom warns people not to reject her advice

In this section, Wisdom is personified as a woman teacher or prophetess who publicly warns people not to reject her advice. After an introduction (1:20–21), Wisdom begins her speech. In her speech, she scolds foolish people for ignoring her teaching (1:22–27). She then describes what will happen to such people (1:28–31). She concludes her speech by contrasting the fate of fools with the happiness of those who obey her (1:32–33).

In the verses that contain Wisdom’s speech, the Notes use a capital letter for Wisdom, except where a quoted version has small letters. The Display provides more than one option. You may use either option in your language, depending on what is appropriate in each context. See the note at Section 8:1–36 for more information about using a capital letter to indicate personification.

Some other headings for this section are:

Wisdom Speaks (NCV)

Warning Against Rejecting Wisdom (NIV)

Wisdom’s invitation to people to listen to her advice

1:22

This verse contains three parallel lines. Wisdom rebukes three similar kinds of people for three similar kinds of unwise behavior.

^22a How long, O simple ones, will you love your simple ways?

^22b How long will scoffers delight in their scorn

^22cand fools hate knowledge?

1:22a–c

How long, O simple ones, will you love your simple ways? How long will scoffers delight in their scorn and fools hate knowledge?: These are rhetorical questions. Wisdom asks these questions to denounce or rebuke simple ones, scoffers, and fools. She urges them to stop their behavior. Some other ways to translate a rebuke of this nature are:

Use a different question. For example:
Why do you simple ones continue to love your simple ways?
Use a statement. For example:
You simple people must stop loving your simple ways.

In the Hebrew text, the first line uses the pronoun “you^(plur).” The next two lines use “they” (they delight in, they hate). Because of this change of reference, there are different interpretations as to whom Wisdom is addressing:

Wisdom is addressing “simple ones, scoffers, and fools.” For example:
How long will you gullible people love being so gullible? How long will you mockers find joy in your mocking? How long will you fools hate knowledge? (GW) (NLT, GW)
Wisdom is addressing only “simple ones” directly, though she comments about the other two classes of people. For example:
How long will you simpletons love naiveté? How long will mockers delight in mockery and fools hate knowledge? (NET) (BSB, NET, NIV, NRSV, NJB)

It is recommended that you follow interpretation (1), along with a majority of scholars.Ross, Fox, Toy, and an NET footnote support interpretation (1). Waltke supports interpretation (2). In 1:23 Wisdom again uses the pronoun “you” to refer to the ones she rebuked. It seems unlikely that Wisdom would appeal only to the simple, and not to scoffers and the fools.

All scholars agree that three classes of people are mentioned in this verse. However, these classes overlap. For example:

You fools, how long will you be foolish? How long will you make fun of wisdom and hate knowledge? (NCV)

1:22a

“How long, O simple ones, will you love your simple ways?

¶ She says, “You^(plur) foolish people, why do you strongly desire to be easily deceived?
¶ She says, “You foolish people who want to remain naive, you must turn your back on this attitude.

How long, O simple ones, will you love your simple ways?: For the meaning of simple ones, see the note on 1:4a. However, the context in 1:22 indicates that these inexperienced youths have already rejected the advice given to them and have become total fools. That is probably the reason that the GNT translated this word as “inexperienced” in 1:4a, but as “foolish” in this verse. The NCV is similar with “fools.” One way to express both meanings in this question is:

You foolish people, why do you want to remain naive?

See simple in the Glossary.

1:22b

How long will scoffers delight in their scorn

You^(plur) who get pleasure from mocking others, how long will you continue your mocking?
Why do you enjoy mocking good advice?
Making fun of others should not give you pleasure. You must stop doing that.

scoffers: In Hebrew, this word refers to people who scoff at or make fun of someone or something. A “scoffer,” also called a “mocker,” is arrogant as well as scornful. But the focus of this word is on the disdainful way that a scoffer treats other people. It is not mainly on the scoffer’s feeling of pride.

The Hebrew text does not specify what these people scoff at or mock. If it is necessary to make explicit what they mock, some options are:

making fun of knowledge (GNT)

make fun of wisdom (NCV)

mock good advice

scoff at other people

See mocker in the Glossary.

1:22c

and fools hate knowledge?

How long will you^(plur) hate knowledge? What stupid fools you are!
You fools must stop refusing to learn how to become wise.

fools: In Hebrew, this word for “fool” (kǝsil) refers to someone who is a moral fool, not someone who is uneducated or who lacks intelligence. He does what is stupid and wrong because he is mentally lazy and is satisfied with himself. He does not understand the need to change his own foolish behavior and does not want to think about the consequences. Other ways to translate this word are:

complacent fool

stupid fool

See fool 2 in the Glossary. Also compare the Glossary entry for fool 1.

hate knowledge: The verb translated by the BSB as hate means to strongly dislike or loathe. It also includes the idea of rejecting the thing that is hated. Another way to translate the phrase hate knowledge is:

refuse to learn

See knowledge in the Glossary.

uW Translation Notes:

Note 1 topic: figures-of-speech / quotations

עַד־מָתַ֣י

until when(q)

[1:22–33](../01/22.md) are one long quotation that Solomon presents as if wisdom itself were speaking. Consider natural ways of introducing direct quotations in your language. Alternate translation: “She says, “Until when” or “It is as if Wisdom says, “Until when”

Note 2 topic: figures-of-speech / rquestion

עַד־מָתַ֣י ׀ פְּתָיִם֮ תְּֽאֵהֲב֫וּ פֶ֥תִי וְ⁠לֵצִ֗ים לָ֭צוֹן חָמְד֣וּ לָ⁠הֶ֑ם וּ֝⁠כְסִילִ֗ים יִשְׂנְאוּ־דָֽעַת

until when(q) simple love simple and,mockers scoffing delight to/for=them and,fools hate knowledge

Wisdom is using the question form to emphasize that these types of people should stop acting the way that they do. If you would not use the question form for this purpose in your language, you could translate this as a statement or an exclamation. Alternate translation: “For too long the naive ones have loved naiveté, and mockers have delighted in mockery for themselves, and stupid ones have hated knowledge!”

Note 3 topic: figures-of-speech / abstractnouns

פֶ֥תִי & לָ֭צוֹן & דָֽעַת

simple & scoffing & knowledge

If your language does not use abstract nouns for the ideas of naiveté, mockery, and knowledge, you could express the same ideas in other ways. See how you translated knowledge in [1:4](../01/04.md). Alternate translation: “thinking naively … mocking … knowing things”

OET-LV English word order (‘Reverse’ interlinear)

Note: The OET-RV is still only a first draft, and so far only a few words have been (mostly automatically) matched to the Hebrew or Greek words that they’re translated from.

Acknowledgements: The Hebrew text, lemmas, and morphology are all thanks to the OSHB and some of the glosses are from Macula Hebrew.

OET interlinear PROV 1:22