The wise store up knowledge, but the mouth of the fool invites destruction.
Parallel translations
- WEB Wise men lay up knowledge, but the mouth of the foolish is near ruin.
- KJV Wise men lay up knowledge: but the mouth of the foolish is near destruction.
- NKJV Wise people store up knowledge, But the mouth of the foolish is near destruction.
- NASB Wise people store up knowledge, But with the mouth of the foolish, ruin is at hand.
- NLT Wise people treasure knowledge, but the babbling of a fool invites disaster.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
The wise store up knowledge, but the mouth of the fool invites ruin. The wise prepare and restrain; the fool's reckless words bring disaster.
Overview
Wise people accumulate knowledge for the right moment, while the fool's unrestrained mouth hastens trouble. The contrast is between careful preparation and careless speech. This commends both the gathering of wisdom and the discipline of guarded words, reflecting the value Scripture places on a restrained tongue (Proverbs 17:27-28).
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 14
- Prov 10:8A wise heart will receive commandments, but foolish lips will come to ruin.
- Prov 18:7A fool’s mouth is his ruin, and his lips are a snare to his soul.
- Prov 13:3He who guards his mouth protects his life, but the one who opens his lips invites his own ruin.
- Prov 9:9Instruct a wise man, and he will be wiser still; teach a righteous man, and he will increase his learning.
- Prov 10:10He who winks the eye causes grief, and foolish lips will come to ruin.
- Matt 12:35The good man brings good things out of his good store of treasure, and the evil man brings evil things out of his evil store of treasure.
- Prov 18:15The heart of the discerning acquires knowledge, and the ear of the wise seeks it out.
- 2 Cor 4:6–7For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” made His light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.
- Matt 13:44The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field. When a man found it, he hid it again, and in his joy he went and sold all he had and bought that field.
- Prov 21:23He who guards his mouth and tongue keeps his soul from distress.
- Matt 13:52Then He told them, “For this reason, every scribe who has been discipled in the kingdom of heaven is like a homeowner who brings out of his storeroom new treasures as well as old.”
- Prov 1:5let the wise listen and gain instruction, and the discerning acquire wise counsel
- Prov 18:1He who isolates himself pursues selfish desires; he rebels against all sound judgment.
- Prov 19:8He who acquires wisdom loves himself; one who safeguards understanding will find success.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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Christ at the center
Wisdom personified, with God before creation and the agent of all things, anticipates Christ 'in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom' — the wisdom of God made flesh.
How Proverbs 10:14 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
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