EasyEnglish Bible 2018
Proverbs 23:9
99. Do not speak to foolish people. They will think that your wise words are silly.
Proverbs 23:9 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)Speak not in the ears of a fool: for he will despise the wisdom of thy words.
- New International Version (NIV)Do not speak to fools, for they will scorn your prudent words.
- English Standard Version (ESV)Do not speak in the hearing of a fool, for he will despise the good sense of your words.
- New King James Version (NKJV)Do not speak in the hearing of a fool, For he will despise the wisdom of your words.
Context of Proverbs 23:9
7He says, ‘Eat and drink as much as you want,’ but he does not really mean that. He is thinking about the cost of the food. 8Even if you only eat a little of his food, it will make you sick. All your nice words to him will be useless. 9. Do not speak to foolish people. They will think that your wise words are silly. 1010. Never move a stone that has always shown the border of someone's land. Do not take for yourself the fields of people who have no family to help them. 11God himself will be the relative who helps them. He will speak against you in court.
Read all of Proverbs 23Proverbs 23:9 word by word
בְּאָזְנֵ֣י כְ֭סִיל אַל־תְּדַבֵּ֑ר כִּֽי־יָ֝ב֗וּז לְשֵׂ֣כֶל מִלֶּֽיךָ׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
Cross-references for Proverbs 23:9
- Proverbs 9:7If you warn a person who is proud, he will insult you. If you tell a wicked person that he is wrong, he will hurt you.
- Proverbs 26:4If someone asks you a silly question, do not give him a silly answer. Be careful that you do not become as silly as he is.
- Isaiah 36:21When the people who were sitting on the wall heard this, they were quiet. They did not reply, because King Hezekiah had said, ‘Do not answer him.’
- Matthew 7:6Do not give special things that are for God to dogs. The dogs will turn round and attack you. Do not throw valuable things to pigs. The pigs will only stand on them and bury them in the dirt.’
- Acts 13:45But when some Jews saw the crowds of people, they became angry. They were very jealous because the people listened to Paul and Barnabas. They said that Paul was teaching wrong things. They also said bad things against him.
- Acts 28:25They argued about it with each other. When they began to leave the house, Paul said, ‘The Holy Spirit spoke a true message to your ancestors. He gave this message to Isaiah, the prophet:
- Luke 16:14The Pharisees heard all this. They loved money very much, so they laughed at Jesus. They said to him, ‘You are wrong.’
- John 8:52The Jews said, ‘Now we know that a demon lives in you! Abraham and all the prophets died. But you say, “Anyone who obeys my words will never know death!”
- John 9:30The man answered, ‘That is a very strange thing! You do not know where this man comes from. But he is the one who made my eyes able to see.
- John 10:20Many of them said, ‘He has a demon in him and he is crazy. You should not listen to him!’
- Acts 17:18There were some teachers there who liked to talk about the things that people should believe. Some of them were called Epicureans and some were called Stoics. After they talked to Paul, some of them said to each other, ‘Who is this silly man? He knows nothing and he talks too much!’ But some of these teachers said, ‘We think that he is talking about strange gods.’ They said this because Paul was telling people the good news about Jesus. He was also talking about the time when God will cause dead people to live again.
- 1 Corinthians 1:21God himself is wise. He has decided that people cannot know him just because they are wise in their own way. Instead, God uses the message about Jesus to save people. That message may seem to be silly to some people. But when we tell it to people, God saves them if they believe it.
- 1 Corinthians 4:10We have become like fools so that we can serve Christ. But you think that you are wise because you belong to Christ. We seem like weak people, but you seem to be strong! People respect you but they insult us!
Commentaries on Proverbs 23:9
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 9The “fool” here is one willfully and persistently deaf to it, almost identical with the scorner.Read the comment
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 9Verse 9 It is our duty to take all fit occasions to speak of Divine things; but if what a wise man says will not be heard, let him hold his peace.Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 9Saying 9: Fools do not listen to advice (compare Proverbs 9:7–12; 10:18), so wise people do not waste their words (see Matthew 7:6).Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 99. (Compare Pr 9:8). "Cast not your pearls before swine" (Mt 7:6).Read the comment
Topics related to Proverbs 23:9
In the dictionaries
Commentaries on Proverbs 23
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
- Tyndale Open Study Notes
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
- Rashi on Tanakh
- Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
- John Wesley’s Notes
- Darby Translation Notes
- Geneva Bible Translation Notes
- Kingcomments
- Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
- Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
- Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
- Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
- EGW Writings
EasyEnglish Bible 2018 — Copyright © MissionAssist 2018
Commentaries