August 18, 2026 -- Proverbs 14:16 -- Wise or a wise guy?

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One who is wise is cautious and turns away from evil,
but a fool is reckless and careless. Proverbs 14:16 ESV
 
There are various possible translations for the second line of today’s proverb. It is one that is hard to accurately translate. I suppose you could explain the contrasting parallelism in this way: One man is wise and the other is a wise-guy, or he is merely wise in his own eyes.
 
The proverbs are filled with descriptions of the one who is wise. In our verse today the wise fears (the ESV translators opted instead for “is cautious”); normally you’d expect to read “fears the LORD”. But the word stands alone. To fear [the LORD] is to be cautious in the face of evil, or temptations, and allow one’s course of action to be determined by the Word. To fear wisely is to be cautious and anticipate what might result from raging or blindly going forward.
 
A fool is one who is dull, or stupid—the evidence of the LORD’s power and presence are all around him, but he refuses to acknowledge it and hardens his heart. The dullard does not worship the God Who created him, sustains him, and gives him breath. He uses the very breath God has put into his lungs to rage against his Creator. The word reckless is translated as “rages” in the King James Version. He rages against wisdom. He is reckless with the gifts of God and the treasure of his life.
 
The next word in the second phrase is variously translated as well, because it literally means: “he trusts”. Implied is the sense he trusts himself—which is why he is stupid—because the wise place their trust in God alone. The man of folly feels secure in himself, though he has no reason to be, his previous foolishness has, most likely, already been exposed in his life many times over, but he ignored the consequences of it then, and now again.
 
In today’s proverb you hear the echo of an earlier one. If you are a fool you are a fool alone, if you are wise you are wise unto the LORD (a loose translation of Proverbs 9:12). Are you acting like a fool, or can you see the wisdom of God taking hold of your heart?
 
O LORD,
the world is artful to entrap,
approaches in fascinating guise,
extends many a gilded bait,
presents many a charming face.
Let my faith scan every painted bauble,
and escape every bewitching snare
in a victory that overcomes all things.
By unbelief I often keep the Lord outside my door.
Let faith give entrance that He may abide with me forever.
  Excerpt from: “Faith and the World” Valley of Vision
 
https://youtu.be/84YASWe3_2Q?si=1iY-GvsTN-RsyiSG Abide with Me
 

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