The way of a fool is right in his own eyes, but he who is wise listens to counsel.
Parallel translations
- KJV The way of a fool is right in his own eyes: but he that hearkeneth unto counsel is wise.
- BSB The way of a fool is right in his own eyes, but a wise man listens to counsel.
- NKJV The way of a fool is right in his own eyes, But he who heeds counsel is wise.
- NASB The way of a fool is right in his own eyes, But a person who listens to advice is wise.
- NLT Fools think their own way is right, but the wise listen to others.
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
A fool thinks his own way is right, but the wise listen to counsel. Teachability distinguishes the wise from the fool.
Overview
This proverb contrasts the self-assured fool, certain of his own rightness, with the wise person who heeds advice. The willingness to receive counsel is a hallmark of true wisdom. Humbly listening rather than trusting our own judgment alone reflects the dependence on God and others that godly wisdom requires.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 17
- Prov 3:7Don’t be wise in your own eyes. Fear Yahweh, and depart from evil.
- Prov 14:16A wise man fears and shuns evil, but the fool is hot headed and reckless.
- Prov 26:12Do you see a man wise in his own eyes? There is more hope for a fool than for him.
- Prov 19:20Listen to counsel and receive instruction, that you may be wise in your latter end.
- Prov 16:2All the ways of a man are clean in his own eyes; but Yahweh weighs the motives.
- Prov 14:12There is a way which seems right to a man, but in the end it leads to death.
- Prov 16:25There is a way which seems right to a man, but in the end it leads to death.
- Prov 1:5that the wise man may hear, and increase in learning; that the man of understanding may attain to sound counsel:
- Gal 6:3For if a man thinks himself to be something when he is nothing, he deceives himself.
- Prov 9:9Instruct a wise man, and he will be still wiser. Teach a righteous man, and he will increase in learning.
- Prov 21:2Every way of a man is right in his own eyes, but Yahweh weighs the hearts.
- Prov 30:12There is a generation that is pure in their own eyes, yet are not washed from their filthiness.
- Prov 26:16The sluggard is wiser in his own eyes than seven men who answer with discretion.
- Prov 28:11The rich man is wise in his own eyes; but the poor who has understanding sees through him.
- Jer 38:15–28Then Jeremiah said to Zedekiah, “If I declare it to you, will you not surely put me to death? If I give you counsel, you will not listen to me.”
- Eccl 4:13Better is a poor and wise youth than an old and foolish king who doesn’t know how to receive admonition any more.
- Luke 18:11The Pharisee stood and prayed to himself like this: ‘God, I thank you, that I am not like the rest of men, extortionists, unrighteous, adulterers, or even like this tax collector.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.
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 12:15 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
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.