Key Verse Spotlight
Proverbs 23:9 - Meaning and Application
Understand how this verse speaks to what you're facing and how to apply it today
Translation: World English Bible — Catholic Edition
" Don’t speak in the ears of a fool, for he will despise the wisdom of your words. "
Proverbs 23:9
Verse in Context
Understanding the surrounding verses prevents misinterpretation:
7 for as he thinks about the cost, so he is. “Eat and drink!” he says to you, but his heart is not with you.
8 You will vomit up the morsel which you have eaten and waste your pleasant words.
9 Don’t speak in the ears of a fool, for he will despise the wisdom of your words.
10 Don’t move the ancient boundary stone. Don’t encroach on the fields of the fatherless,
11 for their Defender is strong. He will plead their case against you.
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We are told here not to cast pearls before swine (Matthew 7:6), and not to expose sacred things to the contempt and ridicule of mockers who have no respect for God. It is our duty to take every proper opportunity to speak about divine things. But some people make a joke of everything, even when it is spoken wisely and at the right time.
Such people do not just despise a wise person’s words, they despise the wisdom in those words. Even what would help them most is treated as if it had some bad purpose against them, and they guard themselves against it. People who act this way lose the benefit of good advice and instruction. So a wise man is not only allowed, but advised, not to speak in the ears of such fools.
Let them remain foolish if they will, and do not waste precious words on them. If what a wise man says in wisdom will not be heard, let him hold his peace and see whether the wisdom of silence will be noticed.
From This Chapter
Proverbs 23:1
"When you sit to eat with a ruler, consider diligently what is before you;"
Proverbs 23:2
"put a knife to your throat if you are a man given to appetite."
Proverbs 23:3
"Don’t be desirous of his dainties, since they are deceitful food."
Proverbs 23:4
"Don’t weary yourself to be rich. In your wisdom, show restraint."
Proverbs 23:5
"Why do you set your eyes on that which is not? For it certainly sprouts wings like an eagle and flies in the sky."
Proverbs 23:6
"Don’t eat the food of him who has a stingy eye, and don’t crave his delicacies,"
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