Chapter 26

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Having spent the last chapter extolling the virtues of Wisdom (as he does for much of the book), Solomon, through Hezekiah, now changes tack. Instead of speaking of the wonders of wisdom, he now warns against folly.

Keep in the back of your mind that to Solomon, folly and evil are equivalent.

And what a tirade! As a connoisseur of fine invective, I always love to hear (or read) excellent examples of ranting. And Solomon doesn’t disappoint!

A few examples:

“Putting a fool in the place of honour is like putting a mud brick on a marble column!”
Don’t you just love the imagery here? It’s so evocative!

“As a dog eats its own vomit, so fools recycle silliness.”
In passing, a good translation of this well-known proverb. There are layers of meaning here. There’s the simple revolting nature of the actions described. Then there is the fact that a dog is associated (to Jewish readers) with uncleanness. There’s the comparison of the futility of such actions too.

“Don’t respond to the stupidity of a fool. You’ll only look foolish yourself.”
Be honest – how many times have you been caught by this one?

“Answer a fool in simple terms, or he may get a swelled head.”
And arrogant fools are not at all short in our society.

There’s lots more, but read them yourself!

Solomon’s distaste for fools is striking, but not unexpected. A lack of wisdom does a lot of damage. Each of us can think of situations where thoughtless or stupid comments have damaged a friendship, wrecked a team, perverted justice. Foolish thoughts and deeds can harm all those around.

Wisdom is best, of course – but at least let’s try to avoid folly!