Don't Wear Yourself Out
Do not speak to a fool, for he will despise the wisdom of your words. Proverbs 23:9 · Berean Standard Bible
Don't bother trying to share wisdom with a fool because he'll just mock you and reject what you're trying to teach him.
In Proverbs, a 'fool' isn't just someone who's not smart—it's someone who's closed to wisdom, who scorns it. Trying to reason with someone determined not to listen wastes your breath and invites their contempt.
A father or wise teacher speaking to a young person
Throughout Scripture, there's a recognition that not everyone is ready to hear truth, and wisdom means knowing when to speak and when to save your words. Jesus later teaches the same thing—don't cast pearls before swine.
Do not waste wisdom on a fool; he will not receive instruction but will instead mock and despise your attempts at correction.
The 'fool' (כסיל, kesil) in Proverbs denotes not mere intellectual limitation but moral and spiritual stubbornness—a person constitutionally resistant to wisdom precisely because he has elevated his own judgment above the traditions and corrections of the wise. To 'speak to' a fool invites dismissal and potential ridicule.
The wisdom teacher, establishing a principle of discernment in pedagogy itself—recognizing that teaching requires not merely knowledge but receptive audience.
This verse establishes a biblical principle later refined in Jesus's instruction to his disciples about not casting pearls before swine—teaching that wisdom requires matching the gift to the capacity of the recipient, and that some people, through their own choices, have closed themselves to instruction.
7for he is keeping track, inwardly counting the cost. “Eat and drink,” he says to you, but his heart is not with you.
8You will vomit up what little you have eaten and waste your pleasant words.
9Do not speak to a fool, for he will despise the wisdom of your words.
10Do not move an ancient boundary stone or encroach on the fields of the fatherless,
11for their Redeemer is strong; He will take up their case against you.
Read all of Proverbs 23 — Do not wear yourself out to get rich. Have the wisdom to show restraint. Riches sprout wings and fly away like an eagle.
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