PROV 14:24 Parallel Verse View

Note: This view shows ‘verses’ which are not natural language units and hence sometimes only part of a sentence will be visible—click on any Bible version abbreviation down the left-hand side to see the verse in more of its context. Normally the OET discourages the reading of individual ‘verses’, but this view is only designed as a tool for doing comparisons of different translations—the older translations are further down the page (so you can read up from the bottom to trace the English translation history). The OET segments on this page are still very early looks into the unfinished texts of the Open English Translation of the Bible—please double-check these texts in advance before using in public.

Text critical issues=small word differences Clarity of original=clear Importance to us=normal (All still tentative.)

Key: .
Note: Automatic aligning of the OET-RV to the LV is done by some temporary software, hence the OET-RV alignments are incomplete (and may occasionally be wrong).

BrLXX Στέφανος σοφῶν πανοῦργος, ἡ δὲ διατριβὴ ἀφρόνων κακή.
(Stefanos sofōn panourgos, haʸ de diatribaʸ afronōn kakaʸ. )

BrTr A prudent man is the crown of the wise: but the occupation of fools is evil.

ULT The crown of the wise ones is their riches;
⇔ the folly of stupid ones is folly.

UST A reward of being wise is to become rich,
⇔ but because stupid people are foolish, they only become more foolish.

OEB No OEB PROV book available

WEBBE The crown of the wise is their riches,
⇔ but the folly of fools crowns them with folly.

WMBB (Same as above)

NET The crown of the wise is their riches,
⇔ but the folly of fools is folly.

LSV The crown of the wise is their wealth,
The folly of fools [is] folly.

FBV The wise are rewarded with wealth, but stupid people are rewarded with stupidity.

T4T ⇔ One of the rewards [MET] of being wise is to become rich;
⇔ the reward of acting foolishly is to become more foolish.

LEB • The crown of the wise is their wealth; the folly of fools is folly.

BBE Their wisdom is a crown to the wise, but their foolish behaviour is round the head of the unwise.

Moff The crown of wise men is their wisdom:
⇔ the coronet of fools is their own folly.

JPS The crown of the wise is their riches; but the folly of fools remaineth folly.

ASV The crown of the wise is their riches;
⇔ But the folly of fools is only folly.

DRA The crown of the wise is their riches: the folly of fools, imprudence.

YLT The crown of the wise is their wealth, The folly of fools [is] folly.

Drby The crown of the wise is their riches; the folly of the foolish is folly.

RV The crown of the wise is their riches: but the folly of fools is only folly.

SLT The crown of the wise is their riches: the folly of the foolish, folly.

Wbstr The crown of the wise is their riches: but the foolishness of fools is folly.

KJB-1769 The crown of the wise is their riches: but the foolishness of fools is folly.

KJB-1611 The crowne of the wise is their riches: but the foolishnesse of fooles is folly.
(Modernised spelling is same as from KJB-1769 above)

Bshps Riches are as a crowne vnto the wise: but the ignoraunce of fooles is very foolishnesse.
(Riches are as a crown unto the wise: but the ignorance of fools is very foolishness.)

Gnva The crowne of the wise is their riches, and the follie of fooles is foolishnes.
(The crown of the wise is their riches, and the follie of fools is foolishness. )

Cvdl Riches are an ornament vnto the wyse, but the ignoraunce of fooles is very foolishnesse.
(Riches are an ornament unto the wise, but the ignorance of fools is very foolishness.)

Wycl The coroun of wise men is the richessis of hem; the fooli of foolis is vnwarnesse.
(The crown of wise men is the riches of hem; the fooli of fools is unwarness.)

Luth Den Weisen ist ihr Reichtum eine Krone; aber die Torheit der Narren bleibt Torheit.
(The ways/manners is you(pl)/their/her wealth/abundance a/one crown; but the folly the/of_the fool(n) remains/stays folly.)

ClVg Corona sapientium divitiæ eorum; fatuitas stultorum imprudentia.[fn]
(Corona wise wealth their; fatuitas of_fools imprudence. )

14.24 Fatuitas stultorum. Imprudentia, quasi improvidentia dicitur.

14.24 Fatuitas of_fools. Imprudence, as_if improvidence it_is_said.

SOTN SIL Open Translator’s Notes:

Section 10:1–22:16: This is the main collection of Solomon’s proverbs

This section is the main collection of Solomon’s proverbs. It has a very different structure from the longer poetic lectures of chapters 1–9. It consists mostly of individual couplets (two-line poems) that are each one verse in length. With the exception of the title (10:1a), paragraph breaks will not be indicated in the Notes or Display. You may of course choose to start each proverb as a separate paragraph in your translation.

In chapters 10–15, most of these one-verse couplets express a contrast between the two lines. One of the more common contrasts is between the righteous/wise and the wicked/foolish and the different consequences of their conduct.

In chapters 16:1–22:16, more topics are discussed. There is more emphasis on the role of the king and other leaders. In these chapters, there are few proverbs with contrasting lines. Some of the parallel lines are similar in meaning. More frequently, the second line adds to what the first line says or gives an example. Most of the verses have no obvious connection with the previous or following proverbs.UBS (page 214), Fox (page 509), McKane (page 413). Many scholars, including McKane, point out that there are some topical groupings as well as poetic connections. These include the repetition of certain words or sounds. This observation does not deny the individual nature of most of the proverbs in this Section.

Two of the types of proverbs in this section are not found in chapters 1–9. One type contains logical reasoning from the lesser to the greater. See 11:31 for a list of these proverbs. There are also several varieties of complex “better than” proverbs. The most common have a contrasting situation in each line (see 12:9). For other varieties, see 16:16, 19:1, and 21:9.

Many of the proverbs in this section refer to categories of people who share a common trait. For example, they refer to the righteous, the wise, the poor, and the lazy. In Hebrew, some verses use singular forms to refer to these groups of people. Other verses use plural forms. Still others use a combination of singular and plural. See the note on 10:30a–b for one example. For most of these verses, the Notes will not comment on the difference between singular and plural forms. Use a natural way in your language to refer to one or more people who are in the same category.

Many of the proverbs in this section express a general principle in abstract terms. They are not addressed specifically to the readers. For example, 10:2a–b says:

Ill-gotten treasures are of no value,

but righteousness delivers from death.

However, the author intended his readers to understand these proverbs as advice that they should follow. In some languages, authors or speakers give advice more directly, using pronouns such as you^(sing), you^(plur), we^(dual), or we^(incl). See the note on 10:2 for translation suggestions.

Some other headings for this section are:

Proverbs of Solomon (NIV)

The Wise Words of Solomon (NCV)

Here are many wise things that Solomon said

14:24

Notice the parallel parts that contrast in meaning:

^24a The crown of the wise is their wealth,

^24bbut the effort of fools is folly.

14:24a

The crown of the wise is their wealth,

Wealth is like a crown that is placed on a wise person’s head,
Those who are wise are rewarded with wealth,
Wise people become rich as a reward for their wisdom,

The crown of the wise is their wealth: There is a textual difference here:

The Masoretic Text has: “The crown of the wise is their wealth.” This means that wise people are crowned/rewarded with wealth. For example:
Wise people are rewarded with wealth (GNT) (BSB, CEV, ESV, GW, KJV, NASB, NCV, NET, NIV, NJB, NJPS, NLT, REB, GNT)
The LXX has a word meaning “prudence” instead of “wealth.” So some scholars think that the original text was: “The crown of the wise is their prudence.” For example:
The crown of the wise is their wisdom (NRSV) (NAB, NRSV)

It is recommended that you follow option (1), along with most versions and scholars.See Waltke (p. 581) for several arguments against the LXX reading. He notes, for example, that “Aquila and Theod. corrected the Greek back to the proto-MT.” The MT makes good sense as it is. Other proverbs (such as 3:16, 8:18) also describe riches as a reward that comes from having wisdom.

In Hebrew, the word order of 14:24a is as in the BSB. Some versions change the word order. For example:

^24aTheir wealth is the crown of the wise (REB)

^24aThe wealth of the wise is their crown (NIV)

You may use either of these word orders. There is little difference in meaning.

14:24b

but the effort of fools is folly.

but the foolish acts of stubborn fools result only in more foolishness.
but stubborn fools remain foolish as a result of their foolishness.

but the effort of fools is folly: There is a textual issue in this line:

The Masoretic Text has: “The folly (ʾiwwelet) of fools (kǝsilim) is folly (ʾiwwelet).” This means that the foolish behavior of fools consists or results in nothing but foolishness itself. For example:
The stupidity of fools is just that—stupidity! (GW) (BSB, CEV, ESV, GW, KJV, NASB, NCV, NET, NIV, NJB, NJPS, NLT, GNT)
Some scholars think that instead of the first instance of Hebrew ʾiwwelet (“folly”), the original text was liwyat (“wreath” or “garland”). The line would then have: “The wreath/garland of fools is folly.” This would provide a better parallel to “crown” in 14:24a. For example:
but folly is the garland of fools (NRSV) (NAB, NRSV, REB)

It is recommended that you follow option (1), along with most versions and scholars. Inexact contrasts are common in Proverbs, so that in itself is not enough reason to propose a different Hebrew text. Also, the word “garland/wreath” occurs in positive contexts elsewhere in Proverbs (1:9 and 4:9). It is not used in describing fools.

Some other ways to express the meaning of this line are:

the effort of fools yields only foolishness (NLT)

but foolishness leads to more foolishness (CEV)

Parallel PROV 14:24

Section 10:1–22:16: This is the main collection of Solomon’s proverbs

14:24

14:24a

14:24b