Not having good thinking or understanding; making unwise choices.
Key References
Their graves are their eternal homes—their dwellings for endless generations—even though their lands were their namesakes.
“How long, O simple ones, will you love your simple ways? How long will scoffers delight in their scorn and fools hate knowledge?
A fool does not delight in understanding, but only in airing his opinions.
Better is a poor but wise youth than an old but foolish king who no longer knows how to take a warning.
All Scripture References (69)
Psalms (3)
Their graves are their eternal homes—their dwellings for endless generations—even though their lands were their namesakes.
that though the wicked sprout like grass, and all evildoers flourish, they will be forever destroyed.
Take notice, O senseless among the people! O fools, when will you be wise?
Proverbs (49)
“How long, O simple ones, will you love your simple ways? How long will scoffers delight in their scorn and fools hate knowledge?
For the waywardness of the simple will slay them, and the complacency of fools will destroy them.
The wise will inherit honor, but fools are held up to shame.
O simple ones, learn to be shrewd; O fools, gain understanding.
The proverbs of Solomon: A wise son brings joy to his father, but a foolish son grief to his mother.
The one who conceals hatred has lying lips, and whoever spreads slander is a fool.
The fool delights in shameful conduct, but a man of understanding has wisdom.
A shrewd man keeps his knowledge to himself, but a foolish heart proclaims its folly.
Every prudent man acts with knowledge, but a fool displays his folly.
Desire fulfilled is sweet to the soul, but turning from evil is detestable to fools.
He who walks with the wise will become wise, but the companion of fools will be destroyed.
Stay away from a foolish man; you will gain no knowledge from his speech.
The wisdom of the prudent is to discern his way, but the folly of fools deceives them.
A wise man fears and turns from evil, but a fool is careless and reckless.
The crown of the wise is their wealth, but the effort of fools is folly.
Wisdom rests in the heart of the discerning; even among fools she is known.
The tongue of the wise commends knowledge, but the mouth of the fool spouts folly.
The lips of the wise spread knowledge, but not so the hearts of fools.
A discerning heart seeks knowledge, but the mouth of a fool feeds on folly.
A wise son brings joy to his father, but a foolish man despises his mother.
A rebuke cuts into a man of discernment deeper than a hundred lashes cut into a fool.
It is better to meet a bear robbed of her cubs than a fool in his folly.
Why should the fool have money in his hand with no intention of buying wisdom?
A man fathers a fool to his own grief; the father of a fool has no joy.
Wisdom is the focus of the discerning, but the eyes of a fool wander to the ends of the earth.
A foolish son brings grief to his father and bitterness to her who bore him.
A fool does not delight in understanding, but only in airing his opinions.
A fool’s lips bring him strife, and his mouth invites a beating.
A fool’s mouth is his ruin, and his lips are a snare to his soul.
Better a poor man who walks with integrity than a fool whose lips are perverse.
Luxury is unseemly for a fool—how much worse for a slave to rule over princes!
A foolish son is his father’s ruin, and a quarrelsome wife is like a constant dripping.
Judgments are prepared for mockers, and beatings for the backs of fools.
Precious treasures and oil are in the dwelling of the wise, but a foolish man consumes them.
Do not speak to a fool, for he will despise the wisdom of your words.
Like snow in summer and rain at harvest, honor does not befit a fool.
A whip for the horse, a bridle for the donkey, and a rod for the backs of fools!
Do not answer a fool according to his folly, or you yourself will be like him.
Answer a fool according to his folly, lest he become wise in his own eyes.
Like cutting off one’s own feet or drinking violence is the sending of a message by the hand of a fool.
Like lame legs hanging limp is a proverb in the mouth of a fool.
Like binding a stone into a sling is the giving of honor to a fool.
Like a thorn that goes into the hand of a drunkard is a proverb in the mouth of a fool.
Like an archer who wounds at random is he who hires a fool or passerby.
As a dog returns to its vomit, so a fool repeats his folly.
Do you see a man who is wise in his own eyes? There is more hope for a fool than for him.
He who trusts in himself is a fool, but one who walks in wisdom will be safe.
A fool vents all his anger, but a wise man holds it back.
Do you see a man who speaks in haste? There is more hope for a fool than for him.
Ecclesiastes (17)
The wise man has eyes in his head, but the fool walks in darkness. Yet I also came to realize that one fate overcomes them both.
So I said to myself, “The fate of the fool will also befall me. What then have I gained by being wise?” And I said to myself that this too is futile.
For there is no lasting remembrance of the wise, just as with the fool, seeing that both will be forgotten in the days to come. Alas, the wise man will die just like the fool!
The fool folds his hands and consumes his own flesh.
Better is a poor but wise youth than an old but foolish king who no longer knows how to take a warning.
Do not be quick to speak, and do not be hasty in your heart to utter a word before God. For God is in heaven and you are on earth. So let your words be few.
As a dream comes through many cares, so the speech of a fool comes with many words.
What advantage, then, has the wise man over the fool? What gain comes to the poor man who knows how to conduct himself before others?
The heart of the wise is in the house of mourning, but the heart of fools is in the house of pleasure.
It is better to heed a wise man’s rebuke than to listen to the song of fools.
For like the crackling of thorns under the pot, so is the laughter of the fool. This too is futile.
Do not be quickly provoked in your spirit, for anger settles in the lap of a fool.
The calm words of the wise are heeded over the shouts of a ruler among fools.
A wise man’s heart inclines to the right, but the heart of a fool to the left.
The words of a wise man’s mouth are gracious, but the lips of a fool consume him.
The toil of a fool wearies him, for he does not know the way to the city.