A fool takes no pleasure in understanding, but only in expressing his opinion.
A prudent man conceals knowledge, but the heart of fools proclaims folly.
The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge; fools despise wisdom and instruction.
Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the wicked, nor stands in the way of sinners, nor sits in the seat of scoffers; but his delight is in the law of the Lord, and on his law he meditates day and night.
Why should a fool have money in his hand to buy wisdom when he has no sense?
Every prudent man acts with knowledge, but a fool flaunts his folly.
Now concerning food offered to idols: we know that “all of us possess knowledge.” This “knowledge” puffs up, but love builds up.
Even when the fool walks on the road, he lacks sense, and he says to everyone that he is a fool.
Forsaking the right way, they have gone astray. They have followed the way of Balaam, the son of Beor, who loved gain from wrongdoing, but was rebuked for his own transgression; a speechless donkey spoke with human voice and restrained the prophet's madness. These are waterless springs and mists driven by a storm. For them the gloom of utter darkness has been reserved. For, speaking loud boasts of folly, they entice by sensual passions of the flesh those who are barely escaping from those who live in error. They promise them freedom, but they themselves are slaves of corruption. For whatever overcomes a person, to that he is enslaved.
Some indeed preach Christ from envy and rivalry, but others from good will.
So with yourselves, since you are eager for manifestations of the Spirit, strive to excel in building up the church.
And behold, all the city came out to meet Jesus, and when they saw him, they begged him to leave their region.
And he took up his discourse and said, “The oracle of Balaam the son of Beor, the oracle of the man whose eye is opened, the oracle of him who hears the words of God, and knows the knowledge of the Most High, who sees the vision of the Almighty, falling down with his eyes uncovered:
“How long, O simple ones, will you love being simple? How long will scoffers delight in their scoffing and fools hate knowledge?
Unless otherwise indicated, all content is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution License. All Scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. Copyright ©2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Contact me: openbibleinfo (at) gmail.com.