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Read the Bible

Easy-to-Read Version

Proverbs 26:12

People who think they are wise when they are not are worse than fools.

Bible Study Resources

Concordances:

- Nave's Topical Bible - Conceit;   Confidence;   False Confidence;   Fool;   Pride;   Self-Righteousness;   Thompson Chain Reference - Conceit;   Humility-Pride;   The Topic Concordance - Wisdom;   Torrey's Topical Textbook - Pride;  

Dictionaries:

- Baker Evangelical Dictionary of Biblical Theology - Religion;   Charles Buck Theological Dictionary - Pardon;   Fausset Bible Dictionary - Proverbs, the Book of;   Holman Bible Dictionary - Proverbs, Book of;   Hastings' Dictionary of the Bible - Greek Versions of Ot;   Proverbs, Book of;  

Encyclopedias:

- International Standard Bible Encyclopedia - Conceit;  

Parallel Translations

Christian Standard Bible®
Do you see a person who is wise in his own eyes?There is more hope for a fool than for him.
Hebrew Names Version
Do you see a man wise in his own eyes? There is more hope for a fool than for him.
King James Version
Seest thou a man wise in his own conceit? there is more hope of a fool than of him.
English Standard Version
Do you see a man who is wise in his own eyes? There is more hope for a fool than for him.
New American Standard Bible
Do you see a person wise in his own eyes? There is more hope for a fool than for him.
New Century Version
There is more hope for a foolish person than for those who think they are wise.
Amplified Bible
Do you see a man [who is unteachable and] wise in his own eyes and full of self-conceit? There is more hope for a fool than for him.
World English Bible
Do you see a man wise in his own eyes? There is more hope for a fool than for him.
Geneva Bible (1587)
Seest thou a man wise in his owne conceite? more hope is of a foole then of him.
Legacy Standard Bible
Do you see a man wise in his own eyes?There is more hope for a fool than for him.
Berean Standard Bible
Do you see a man who is wise in his own eyes? There is more hope for a fool than for him.
Contemporary English Version
There is more hope for a fool than for someone who says, "I'm really smart!"
Complete Jewish Bible
Do you see someone who thinks himself wise? There is more hope for a fool than for him!
Darby Translation
Hast thou seen a man wise in his own eyes? There is more hope of a fool than of him.
George Lamsa Translation
If you should see a man wise in his own eyes, a fool is much better than he.
Good News Translation
The most stupid fool is better off than those who think they are wise when they are not.
Lexham English Bible
Do you see a man wise in his own eyes? There is more hope for a fool than for him.
Literal Translation
Do you see a man wise in his own eyes? There is more hope for a fool than for him.
Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
Yf thou seyest a man yt is wyse in his owne conceate, there is more hope in a foole then in hi.
American Standard Version
Seest thou a man wise in his own conceit? There is more hope of a fool than of him.
Bible in Basic English
Have you seen a man who seems to himself to be wise? There is more hope for the foolish than for him.
JPS Old Testament (1917)
Seest thou a man wise in his own eyes? there is more hope of a fool than of him.
King James Version (1611)
Seest thou a man wise in his owne conceit? There is more hope of a foole then of him.
Bishop's Bible (1568)
If thou seest a man that is wise in his owne conceipt: there is more hope in a foole, then in hym.
English Revised Version
Seest thou a man wise in his own conceit? there is more hope of a fool than of him.
Wycliffe Bible (1395)
Thou hast seyn a man seme wijs to hym silf; an vnkunnyng man schal haue hope more than he.
Update Bible Version
Do you see a man wise in his own conceit? There is more hope of a fool than of him.
Webster's Bible Translation
Seest thou a man wise in his own conceit? [there is] more hope of a fool than of him.
New English Translation
Do you see a man wise in his own eyes? There is more hope for a fool than for him.
New King James Version
Do you see a man wise in his own eyes? There is more hope for a fool than for him.
New Living Translation
There is more hope for fools than for people who think they are wise.
New Life Bible
Do you see a man who is wise in his own eyes? There is more hope for a fool than for him.
New Revised Standard
Do you see persons wise in their own eyes? There is more hope for fools than for them.
J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
Thou hast seen a man wise in his own eye, - more hope of a dullard, than of him!
Douay-Rheims Bible
Hast thou seen a man wise in his own conceit? there shall be more hope of a fool than of him.
Revised Standard Version
Do you see a man who is wise in his own eyes? There is more hope for a fool than for him.
Young's Literal Translation
Thou hast seen a man wise in his own eyes, More hope of a fool than of him!
THE MESSAGE
See that man who thinks he's so smart? You can expect far more from a fool than from him.
New American Standard Bible (1995)
Do you see a man wise in his own eyes? There is more hope for a fool than for him.

Contextual Overview

12 People who think they are wise when they are not are worse than fools.

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

Seest: Proverbs 22:29, Proverbs 29:20, Matthew 21:31, Luke 7:44

a man: Proverbs 26:5, Proverbs 26:16, Proverbs 28:11, Proverbs 29:20, Matthew 21:31, Luke 18:11, Romans 12:16, 1 Corinthians 3:18, 1 Corinthians 3:19, 2 Corinthians 8:1, 2 Corinthians 8:2, Revelation 3:17

Reciprocal: Proverbs 3:7 - Be Proverbs 12:15 - way Proverbs 14:6 - scorner Proverbs 23:4 - cease Proverbs 30:32 - thou hast done Isaiah 5:21 - wise Ezekiel 28:5 - thy great wisdom Matthew 6:23 - If Luke 11:35 - General John 9:34 - and dost John 9:41 - If John 11:49 - Ye Acts 17:18 - babbler Romans 1:22 - General Romans 2:19 - art confident Romans 11:25 - lest Romans 12:3 - not to 1 Corinthians 8:2 - if 2 Corinthians 10:12 - are not wise Galatians 6:3 - if 1 Timothy 6:4 - He

Cross-References

Genesis 24:1
Abraham lived to be a very old man. The Lord blessed him and everything he did.
Genesis 24:35
The Lord has greatly blessed my master in everything. My master has become a great man. The Lord has given him many flocks of sheep and herds of cattle. He has much silver and gold and many servants. He has many camels and donkeys.
Genesis 26:3
Stay in this land, and I will be with you. I will bless you. I will give you and your family all these lands. I will do what I promised to Abraham your father.
Genesis 26:7
His wife Rebekah was very beautiful. The men of that place asked Isaac about Rebekah. He said, "She is my sister." He was afraid to tell them Rebekah was his wife. He was afraid the men would kill him so that they could have her.
Genesis 26:8
After Isaac had lived there a long time, Abimelech looked out of his window and saw Isaac and his wife enjoying one another.
Genesis 26:10
Abimelech said, "You have done a bad thing to us. One of our men might have had sex with your wife. Then he would be guilty of a great sin."
Genesis 26:11
So Abimelech gave a warning to all the people. He said, "No one must hurt this man or this woman. If anyone hurts them, they will be killed."
Genesis 26:29
We did not hurt you; now you should promise not to hurt us. We sent you away, but we sent you away in peace. Now it is clear that the Lord has blessed you."
Genesis 30:30
When I came, you had little. Now you have much, much more. Every time I did something for you, the Lord blessed you. Now it is time for me to work for myself—it is time to do things for my family."
Job 42:12
The Lord blessed Job with even more than he had in the beginning. Job got 14,000 sheep, 6000 camels, 2000 oxen, and 1000 female donkeys.

Gill's Notes on the Bible

Seest thou a man wise in his own conceit,.... Or "in his own eyes" b; as multitudes may be seen, by looking round; man is a creature but of small knowledge in things natural, civil, mechanical, philosophical, moral, or divine; yet greatly conceited for the most part of his knowledge and wisdom. As by a "fool" in this book is generally understood a wicked profane man, so by a wise man is meant a good and righteous man, and may be so understood here; and many there are who are good and righteous only their own conceit and esteem, not truly so; they place their righteousness in outward things, in the observance of external duties; and though there may be some little imperfection in them, yet they think, as they mean well, God will accept the will for the deed: and some have imagined they have arrived to perfection; and such are generally conceited, proud, and haughty, and despise others; all which flows from ignorance; for, though they fancy themselves to be wise, they are very ignorant of themselves; of the plague of their own hearts; of the law of God, and the spirituality of it, and the extensiveness of its demands; of the strict justice and righteousness of God, which will not admit of an imperfect righteousness in the room of a perfect one; and also of the righteousness of Jesus Christ, the nature and necessity of that to justify: and this being their case, they are in very dangerous circumstances; they are building on a sand; they are liable to fall into a ditch; they cannot be justified nor saved by their own works; they oppose themselves to God's way of justifying and saving sinners; and he sets himself against them, he resisteth the proud. Wherefore

[there is] more hope of a fool than of him; of a profane sinner than of a self-righteous person; for Christ came to save sinners, to call them to repentance, and he receives them as such; but not self-righteous persons; and, humanly speaking, there is a greater likelihood and greater hopes of convincing sinners, and bringing them to repentance and to forsake their sins, than there is of convincing a self-righteous man of the insufficiency of his righteousness, and the folly of trusting to it, and of bringing him to repent of such a confidence, and to forsake it; for it is most natural to him; it is his own, and the effect of great labour and pains; and encourages vanity and boasting, which would be excluded should he part with it; see Matthew 21:31.

b בעיניו "in oculis suis", Pagninus, Montanus, Junius & Tremellius, &c.


 
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