Take notice, O senseless among the people! O fools, when will you be wise?
Parallel translations
- WEB Consider, you senseless among the people; you fools, when will you be wise?
- KJV Understand, ye brutish among the people: and ye fools, when will ye be wise?
- NKJV Understand, you senseless among the people; And you fools, when will you be wise?
- NASB ¶Pay attention, you stupid ones among the people; And when will you understand, foolish ones?
- NLT Think again, you fools! When will you finally catch on?
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 psalmist calls the senseless and foolish to finally become wise. He summons the spiritually dull to reckon with the God who sees.
Overview
Turning to address the foolish, the psalmist urges them to abandon their absurd assumption that God is unaware. To deny God's knowledge is the height of folly, contradicting His very nature as Creator. True wisdom begins with the fear of the LORD, who knows all things (Proverbs 1:7; Psalm 14:1).
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 12
- Ps 92:6A senseless man does not know, and a fool does not understand,
- Titus 3:3For at one time we too were foolish, disobedient, misled, and enslaved to all sorts of desires and pleasures—living in malice and envy, being hated and hating one another.
- Ps 49:10For it is clear that wise men die, and the foolish and the senseless both perish and leave their wealth to others.
- Deut 32:29If only they were wise, they would understand it; they would comprehend their fate.
- Isa 27:11When its limbs are dry, they are broken off. Women come and use them for kindling; for this is a people without understanding. Therefore their Maker has no compassion on them, and their Creator shows them no favor.
- Rom 3:11There is no one who understands, no one who seeks God.
- Prov 12:1Whoever loves discipline loves knowledge, but he who hates correction is stupid.
- Jer 8:6–8I have listened and heard; they do not speak what is right. No one repents of his wickedness, asking, ‘What have I done?’ Everyone has pursued his own course like a horse charging into battle.
- Jer 10:8But they are altogether senseless and foolish, instructed by worthless idols made of wood!
- Prov 8:5O simple ones, learn to be shrewd; O fools, gain understanding.
- Ps 73:22I was senseless and ignorant; I was a brute beast before You.
- Prov 1:22“How long, O simple ones, will you love your simple ways? How long will scoffers delight in their scorn and fools hate knowledge?
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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Christ at the center
The Psalms are Christ's own prayer book and a gallery of his portraits — the suffering one of Psalm 22, the risen Lord of Psalm 16, the priest-king of Psalm 110, the Son to whom the nations are given.
How Psalms 94:8 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.