'Fool' in the Bible

Then Saul said, “I have sinned. Return, my son David, for I will not harm you again because my life was precious in your sight this day. Hear me, I have played the fool and have done a very great wrong [to you].”

And the king sang a dirge (funeral song) over Abner and said,“Should Abner [the great warrior] die as a fool dies?

“If my heart has been enticed and I was made a fool by a woman,Or if I have [covetously] lurked at my neighbor’s door [until his departure],

The [spiritually ignorant] fool has said in his heart, “There is no God.”They are corrupt, they have committed repulsive and unspeakable deeds;There is no one who does good.

“Save me from all my transgressions;Do not make me the scorn and reproach of the [self-righteous, arrogant] fool.

For he sees that even wise men die;The fool and the stupid alike perishAnd leave their wealth to others.

The [empty-headed] fool has said in his heart, “There is no God.”They are corrupt and evil, and have committed repulsive injustice;There is no one who does good.

A senseless man [in his crude and uncultivated state] knows nothing,Nor does a [self-righteous] fool understand this:

Suddenly he went after her, as an ox goes to the slaughter [not knowing the outcome],Or as one in stocks going to the correction [to be given] to a fool,

He who hides hatred has lying lips,And he who spreads slander is a fool.

Engaging in evil is like sport to the fool [who refuses wisdom and chases sin],But to a man of understanding [skillful and godly] wisdom brings joy.

The way of the [arrogant] fool [who rejects God’s wisdom] is right in his own eyes,But a wise and prudent man is he who listens to counsel.

Every prudent and self-disciplined man acts with knowledge,But a [closed-minded] fool [who refuses to learn] displays his foolishness [for all to see].

He who walks [as a companion] with wise men will be wise,But the companions of [conceited, dull-witted] fools [are fools themselves and] will experience harm.

A wise man suspects danger and cautiously avoids evil,But the fool is arrogant and careless.

The tongue of the wise speaks knowledge that is pleasing and acceptable,But the [babbling] mouth of fools spouts folly.

A [flippant, arrogant] fool rejects his father’s instruction and correction,But he who [is willing to learn and] regards and keeps in mind a reprimand acquires good sense.

The mind of the intelligent and discerning seeks knowledge and eagerly inquires after it,But the mouth of the [stubborn] fool feeds on foolishness.

Excellent speech does not benefit a fool [who is spiritually blind],Much less do lying lips benefit a prince.

A reprimand goes deeper into one who has understanding and a teachable spiritThan a hundred lashes into a fool.

Let a man meet a [ferocious] bear robbed of her cubsRather than the [angry, narcissistic] fool in his folly.

Why is there money in the hand of a fool to buy wisdom,When he has no common sense or even a heart for it?

He who becomes the parent of a fool [who is spiritually blind] does so to his sorrow,And the father of a fool [who is spiritually blind] has no joy.

[Skillful and godly] wisdom is in the presence of a person of understanding [and he recognizes it],But the eyes of a [thickheaded] fool are on the ends of the earth.

Even a [callous, arrogant] fool, when he keeps silent, is considered wise;When he closes his lips he is regarded as sensible (prudent, discreet) and a man of understanding.

A [closed-minded] fool does not delight in understanding,But only in revealing his personal opinions [unwittingly displaying his self-indulgence and his stupidity].

Better is a poor man who walks in his integrityThan a [rich] man who is twisted in his speech and is a [shortsighted] fool.

Luxury is not fitting for a fool;Much less for a slave to rule over princes.

It is an honor for a man to keep away from strife [by handling situations with thoughtful foresight],But any fool will [start a] quarrel [without regard for the consequences].

When the scoffer is punished, the naive [observes the lesson and] becomes wise;But when the wise and teachable person is instructed, he receives knowledge.

Do not speak in the ears of a fool,For he will despise the [godly] wisdom of your words.

Wisdom is too exalted for a [hardened, arrogant] fool;He does not open his mouth in the gate [where the city’s rulers sit in judgment].

Like snow in summer and like rain in harvest,So honor is not fitting for a [shortsighted] fool.

Do not answer [nor pretend to agree with the frivolous comments of] a [closed-minded] fool according to his folly,Otherwise you, even you, will be like him.

Answer [and correct the erroneous concepts of] a fool according to his folly,Otherwise he will be wise in his own eyes [if he thinks you agree with him].

He who sends a message by the hand of a foolCuts off his own feet (sabotages himself) and drinks the violence [it brings on himself as a consequence].

Like the legs which are useless to the lame,So is a proverb in the mouth of a fool [who cannot learn from its wisdom].

Like one who [absurdly] binds a stone in a sling [making it impossible to throw],So is he who [absurdly] gives honor to a fool.

Like a thorn that goes [without being felt] into the hand of a drunken man,So is a proverb in the mouth of a fool [who remains unaffected by its wisdom].

Like a [careless] archer who [shoots arrows wildly and] wounds everyone,So is he who hires a fool or those who [by chance just] pass by.

Like a dog that returns to his vomitIs a fool who repeats his foolishness.

Do you see a man [who is unteachable and] wise in his own eyes and full of self-conceit?There is more hope for a fool than for him.

Even though you pound a [hardened, arrogant] fool [who rejects wisdom] in a mortar with a pestle like grain,Yet his foolishness will not leave him.

He who trusts confidently in his own heart is a [dull, thickheaded] fool,But he who walks in [skillful and godly] wisdom will be rescued.

If a wise man has a controversy with a foolish and arrogant man,The foolish man [ignores logic and fairness and] only rages or laughs, and there is no peace (rest, agreement).

A [shortsighted] fool always loses his temper and displays his anger,But a wise man [uses self-control and] holds it back.

Do you see a [conceited] man who speaks quickly [offering his opinions or answering without thinking]?There is more hope for a [thickheaded] fool than for him.

Under a servant when he reigns,Under a [spiritually blind] fool when he is filled with food,

The wise man’s eyes are in his head, but the fool walks in darkness; and yet I know that [in the end] one fate happens to them both.

Then I said to myself, “As it happens to the fool, so death will also happen to me. What use is it then for me to be extremely wise?” Then I said in my heart, “This too is vanity (meaningless).”

For there is no [more] lasting remembrance of the wise man than of the fool, since in the days to come all will be long forgotten. And how does the wise man die? Even as the fool!

And who knows whether he will be a wise man or a fool? Yet he will have control over all the fruit of my labor for which I have labored by acting wisely under the sun. This too is vanity (futility, self-conceit).

The fool folds his hands [together] and consumes his own flesh [destroying himself by idleness and apathy].

For what advantage has the wise man over the fool [for being worldly-wise is not the secret to happiness]? What advantage has the poor man who has learned how to walk [publicly] among the living [with men’s eyes on him; for being poor is not the secret to happiness either]?

For like the crackling of [burning] thorn bushes under a pot,So is the laughter of the fool;And this too is vanity (futility).

Even when a fool walks along the road, his [common] sense and good judgment fail him and he demonstrates to everyone that he is a fool.

The words of a wise man’s mouth are gracious and win him favor, but the lips of a fool consume him;

Yet the fool multiplies words, though no man knows what will happen, and who can tell him what will come after he is gone?

The fool (the good-for-nothing) will no longer be called noble,Nor the rogue said to be generous.

For the fool speaks nonsense,And his heart (mind) plans wickedness:To practice ungodliness and to speak error concerning the Lord,To keep the craving of the hungry unsatisfiedAnd to deprive the thirsty of drink.

Who has made a god or cast an idol which is profitable for nothing?

“Like the partridge that hatches eggs which she has not laid,So is he who makes a fortune in ways that are unjust.It will be lost to him before his days are over,And in the end he will be [nothing but] a fool.”

The days of punishment have come;The days of retribution are at hand;Let Israel know this!The prophet is [considered] a fool;The man [of God] who is inspired is [treated as if] demented,Because of the abundance of your wickedness and guilt,And because your deep antagonism [toward God and the prophets] is so great.

But I say to you that everyone who continues to be angry with his brother or harbors malice against him shall be guilty before the court; and whoever speaks [contemptuously and insultingly] to his brother, ‘Raca (You empty-headed idiot)!’ shall be guilty before the supreme court (Sanhedrin); and whoever says, ‘You fool!’ shall be in danger of the fiery hell.

But God said to him, ‘You fool! This very night your soul is required of you; and now who will own all the things you have prepared?’

Let no one deceive himself. If anyone among you thinks that he is wise in this age, let him become a fool [discarding his worldly pretensions and acknowledging his lack of wisdom], so that he may become [truly] wise.

Now I have become foolish; you have forced me [by questioning my apostleship]. Actually I should have been commended by you [instead of being treated disdainfully], for I was not inferior to those super-apostles, even if I am nobody.