Wise men lay up knowledge, but the mouth of the foolish is near ruin.
Parallel Translations
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Wise men lay up knowledge, but the mouth of the foolish is near ruin.
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Wise men lay up knowledge: but the mouth of the foolish is near destruction.
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Wise men lay up knowledge; but the mouth of the foolish is an imminent ruin.
Examined in Scripture Analysis
Contradictions (1)
Questions where the Bible appears to say two different things, with the passages on each side set together.
Cross-references (14)
Passages linked to Proverbs 10:14 in the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge, ordered by reader-vote popularity; verse text shown in World English Bible.
- Proverbs 10:8 The wise in heart accept commandments, but a chattering fool will fall.
- Proverbs 18:7 A fool’s mouth is his destruction, and his lips are a snare to his soul.
- Proverbs 13:3 He who guards his mouth guards his soul. One who opens wide his lips comes to ruin.
- Proverbs 9:9 Instruct a wise person, and he will be still wiser. Teach a righteous person, and he will increase in learning.
- Proverbs 10:10 One winking with the eye causes sorrow, but a chattering fool will fall.
- Proverbs 1:5 that the wise man may hear, and increase in learning; that the man of understanding may attain to sound counsel:
- Proverbs 18:1 A man who isolates himself pursues selfishness, and defies all sound judgment.
- Proverbs 18:15 The heart of the discerning gets knowledge. The ear of the wise seeks knowledge.
- Proverbs 19:8 He who gets wisdom loves his own soul. He who keeps understanding shall find good.
- Proverbs 21:23 Whoever guards his mouth and his tongue keeps his soul from troubles.
- Matthew 12:35 The good man out of his good treasure brings out good things, and the evil man out of his evil treasure brings out evil things.
- Matthew 13:44 “Again, the Kingdom of Heaven is like treasure hidden in the field, which a man found, and hid. In his joy, he goes and sells all that he has, and buys that field.
- Matthew 13:52 He said to them, “Therefore every scribe who has been made a disciple in the Kingdom of Heaven is like a man who is a householder, who brings out of his treasure new and old things.”
- 2 Corinthians 4:6-7 seeing it is God who said, “Light will shine out of darkness,” who has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. But we have this treasure in clay vessels, that the exceeding greatness of the power may be of God, and not from ourselves.
Cross-references from openbible.info (CC BY 4.0)
Explain this verse (17 sources)
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John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain Pro 10:14 Wise [men] lay up knowledge: but the…
Pro 10:14 Wise [men] lay up knowledge: but the mouth of the foolish [is] near destruction.
Ver. 14. Wise men lay up knowledge.] To know when to speak, and when to be silent. It is a great skill to be able "to time a word," {Isa 50:4} to set it upon the wheels. {Pro 25:11} "How forcible are right words!" {Job 6:25}
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But the mouth of the foolish.] An open mouth is a purgatory to the master. Nemo stultus tacere potest, saith Solon. A fool tells all, saith Solomon. {Ecc 10:12-14} And Ut quisque est dissolutissimae vitae, ita est solutissimae linguae, saith Seneca. A fool’s bolt is soon shot, and as soon retorted ofttimes upon himself.
John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Matthew Poole 1685 · Public Domain Wise men lay up, to wit, in their minds…
Wise men lay up, to wit, in their minds and memories, to be brought forth thence upon fit occasions,
knowledge; whereby they may be enabled to speak both what and when it is seasonable, for their own or others’ good.
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The mouth of the foolish is near destruction; fools are more forward to lay out than to lay up, and for want of knowledge speak much and foolishly, whereby they frequently bring destruction upon themselves
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Matthew Henry 1710 · Public Domain Observe, 1. It is the wisdom of the wise…
Observe, 1. It is the wisdom of the wise that they treasure up a stock of useful knowledge, which will be their preservation: Wisdom is therefore found in their lips (Pro 10:13), because it is laid up in their hearts, out of which store, like the good householder, they bring things new and old. Whatever knowledge may be at any time useful to us we must lay it up, because we know not but some time or other we may have occasion for it. We must continue laying up as long as we live; and be sure to lay it up safely, that it may not be to seek when we want it. 2. It is the folly of fools that they lay up mischief in their hearts, which is ready to them in all they say, and works terror and destruction both to others and to themselves. They love devouring words (Psa 52:4), and these come uppermost. Their mouth is near destruction, having the sharp arrows of bitter words always at hand to throw about.
Matthew Henry's Commentary on the Whole Bible (1708–1710) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Gill 1763 · Public Domain Wise men lay up knowledge,.... Which they get by…
Wise men lay up knowledge,.... Which they get by reading, prayer, meditation, hearing the word of God, and conversation with good men: this they lay up in their hearts, minds, and memories, that they may not forget it, and as a rich treasure they highly value it; that they may bring it forth at proper times, and on proper occasions, for the benefit of others; see Mat 12:35; or hide (f) it; conceal it; do not boast and brag of it, as foolish men do;
but the mouth of the foolish is near destruction: who rashly and unguardedly utters things which bring swift and sudden destruction on himself and others; or terror and consternation, as the word (g) also signifies. The Vulgate Latin version is, "but the mouth of the foolish is near to confusion"; he boasts of his knowledge, betrays his ignorance, and so brings himself to shame and confusion.
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(f) "abscondent", Pagninus, Montanus; "abscondunt", V. L. "occultant", Michaelis. (g) "terrorem accersit", Tigurine version; "consternatio propinqua", Cocceius; "terror", Vatablus, Michaelis.
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Wesley 1765 · Public Domain Lay up - In their minds, to be brought…
Lay up - In their minds, to be brought forth upon fit occasions. Knowledge - Whereby they may be enabled to speak both what, and when it is seasonable. But - Fools are more forward to lay out than to lay up, and for want of knowledge speak much and foolishly, whereby they frequently bring destruction upon themselves.
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain Verse 14. Wise men lay up knowledge] They keep…
Verse 14. Wise men lay up knowledge] They keep secret every thing that has a tendency to disturb domestic or public peace; but the foolish man blabs all out, and produces much mischief. Think much, speak little, and always think before you speak. This will promote your own peace and that of your neighbour.
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Albert Barnes 1834 · Public Domain Lay up - The point of the maxim is…
Lay up - The point of the maxim is that the wise man reserves what he has to say for the right time, place, and persons (compare Mat 7:6), as contrasted with the foolish, ever giving immediate utterance to what destroys himself and others.
Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Charles Bridges 1846 · Public Domain Did not Solomon prove his title as a wise…
Did not Solomon prove his title as a wise man by his diligence in laying up knowledge? (Ecc 12:9-10 .) No wonder that wisdom is found in the lips, where "out of the abundance of the good treasure of the heart the mouth speaketh."†1 It is "the householder" storing his mind not for selfish gratification, but for liberal and useful distribution. (Mat 13:52 .) If the hoarding wisdom be cultivated in youth (Pro 6:6 ; Pro 18:1, Pro 18:15 ), what a store of valuable treasure would be laid up! yet all little enough to meet the coming trial. Let every day add something to the stock. So inexhaustible is the treasure, that no doubt, difficulty, temptation, or duty, will be found unprovided for!
Wise men lay up knowledge, for their own use — Fools lay it out. For want of sound wisdom, they only open their mouths for their own mischief, in profane rebellion (Exo 5:2 . Psa 12:3-5 ; Psa 52:1-5 ); groveling selfishness (1Sa 25:10-11, 1Sa 25:38 ); ungodly worldliness (Luk 12:18-20 ); or hateful pride (Act 12:21-23 ) — near to destruction. (Pro 12:13 ; Pro 13:3 ; Pro 18:7 . Ecc 10:12-13 .) How near — who can say? — But if they be not "taken away with a stroke" without remedy (Job 36:18 ); they only stand out as monuments of the "much long-suffering of God, enduring the vessels of wrath fitted to destruction." (Rom 9:22 .)
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Footnotes:
†1 Mat 12:34. Jerome mentions of his friend Nepotian, that, ’by daily reading and meditating in the sacred volume, he had made his soul a library of Christ.’ — Letter to Nepotian.
Charles Bridges, An Exposition of the Book of Proverbs (1846) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Haydock's Catholic Bible Commentary 1859 · Public Domain Confusion. He speaks inconsiderately, and involves himself in continual…
Confusion. He speaks inconsiderately, and involves himself in continual dangers, while the wise are cautious in their speech.
George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown 1871 · Public Domain lay up knowledge--that is, as treasures for good use.
lay up knowledge--that is, as treasures for good use.
mouth . . . destruction--or, "as to the mouth," &c., destruction is near; they expose themselves to evil by prating.
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
Daniel D. Whedon 1874 · Public Domain 14. Lay up — Treasures up, in the memory,…
14. Lay up — Treasures up, in the memory, useful knowledge. Compare Pro_10:8. Is near destruction — Destruction is near by, imminent. The sense is, that knowledge treasured up by the wise preserves from calamity; but folly, which is pre-eminently shown by the mouth, plunges one speedily into it. Miller carries forward the verb, lay up, and renders the last clause, “but the mouth of the fool (stores up) early rain.” On first clause compare Mat_12:35; Mat_13:52; Psa_119:11.
Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges 1878 · Public Domain 14. near destruction] Rather, is a near, or imminent…
14. near destruction] Rather, is a near, or imminent (R.V. a present) destruction: “it is like a house ready to fall at any moment.” The antithesis is between wise men who treasure their wisdom to be used as occasion serves, and a fool who blurts out his folly, and may at any moment bring upon himself and others its disastrous consequences. Comp. Pro_12:23.
The A.V. follows LXX., ἐγγίζει συντριβῇ; and Vulg., confusioni proximum est.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers 1878 · Public Domain (14) The mouth of the foolish is near destruction—i.e.,…
(14) The mouth of the foolish is near destruction—i.e., is a near, ever-threatening calamity; one never knows what awkward or dangerous thing he will not say next: whereas wise men store up knowledge, and bring it forth as it is wanted (Mat_13:52).
A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Pulpit Commentary 1880 · Public Domain Lay up knowledge; like a treasure, for use on…
Lay up knowledge; like a treasure, for use on proper occasions. (Pro_12:23 Pro_14:33; comp. Mat_7:6 Mat_13:52) Is near destruction. "Near" may be an adjective, equivalent to "imminent," "ever-threatening." The versions are proximum est and eggizei . The foolish are always uttering carelessly what may bring trouble on themselves and others.
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Biblical Illustrator 1887 · Public Domain Wise men lay up knowledge.
Pro_10:14
Wise men lay up knowledge.
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Experience kept for use
Another brief definition of wisdom. Many get knowledge, and let it go as fast as they get it. They put their winnings into a bag with holes. The part of wisdom is to treasure up experience, and hold it ready for use in the time and place of need. Everything may be turned to account. Even losses may be converted into gains. Let nothing trickle out and flow away useless. None of the wisdom comes for nothing, either to old or young. Our Father in heaven gives us the best kind; and the best kind is that which is bought. The saddest thing is when people are always paying, and never possessing. The cleverest people are in many cases the least successful. A man of moderate gifts, but steadfast acquisitiveness, lays up more than a man of the brightest genius, whether the treasure sought be earthly substance or heavenly wisdom. Men, looking on the outward appearance, make great mistakes in judging of men. Those who give out little noise may have laid up much wisdom. (W. Arnot, D. D.)
Wise men lay up knowledge
In Eastern countries men lay up garments, and pride themselves in the number of their suits of apparel. In our land men lay up money. But this is not wisdom. In Egypt Joseph laid up corn for the day of famine; and in Syria men lay up water for the summer in cisterns under their houses. This is wisdom; but still it is not the wisdom of which Solomon speaks. The astronomer lays up the knowledge of the stars; and the botanist lays up the knowledge of plants and flowers. This is wisdom, but it is not that of which the text speaks. The knowledge that is best for us is the knowledge of God Himself; and though the knowledge of His works is good, the knowledge of Himself is far better. It is only this knowledge that can make you happy, or bring blessing to your soul. A poor woman, that could not read a word, once said to me, You see Im no scholar; but Im Christs scholar, and that will do. Yes, it was enough; for it made her wise unto salvation. She was one of the wise women that lay up knowledge. This is the knowledge which you must have; you will find it in the Bible; and the Holy Spirit is most willing to become your teacher. (Christian Treasury.)
The Biblical Illustrator, edited by Joseph S. Exell (c. 1880s–1900s) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Paul E. Kretzmann 1924 · Public Domain v. 14. Wise men lay up knowledge, like treasures…
v. 14. Wise men lay up knowledge, like treasures which are to be put to a good use; but the mouth of the foolish is near destruction, because his foolish suggestions are always breaking forth and bringing misfortune to himself and others, like the sudden collapse of a house.
Paul E. Kretzmann, Popular Commentary of the Bible (1921–1924) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
unfoldingWord translationNotes 2017 · CC BY-SA 4.0 the mouth of a fool
the mouth of a fool
"Mouth" represents what a person says. AT: "the words from a foolish person" (See: Metonymy)
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his fortified city
This represents wealth as a safe place. AT: "his safety" (See: Metaphor)
translationWords
wise
know
fool
unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.