Proverbs 9:16 - Printer Friendly

ESV: "Whoever is simple, let him turn in here!" And to him who lacks sense she says,

NIV: "Let all who are simple come to my house!" To those who have no sense she says,

NASB: 'Whoever is naive, let him turn in here,' And to him who lacks understanding she says,

CSB: "Whoever is inexperienced, enter here!" To the one who lacks sense, she says,

NLT: 'Come in with me,' she urges the simple. To those who lack good judgment, she says,

KJV: Whoso is simple, let him turn in hither: and as for him that wanteth understanding, she saith to him,

NKJV: “Whoever is simple, let him turn in here”; And as for him who lacks understanding, she says to him,

Folly (Proverbs 9:13–15), the opposite of Wisdom (Proverbs 9:1–6), uses similar tactics and calls to many of the same people. Here she is seen attempting to influence those who are gullible and lack sense. However, while Wisdom encourages people to seek life and success (Proverbs 9:10–12), Folly looks to trap people in a vastly different destiny. Lady Wisdom calls the simple and those lacking sense to receive wisdom, learning, and abundant life. Woman Folly calls her audience to engage in sin.

Wisdom wants to build up her audience; Folly wants to bring down hers. Of course, Folly pretends to give her audience pleasure, but she is deceptive. Only trouble awaits those that heed her call. In his attempt to lure men and women into false teaching and sin, Satan uses false apostles who are deceitful workmen. They disguise themselves as the apostles of Christ (2 Corinthians 11:13), and "Satan disguises himself as an angel of light" (2 Corinthians 11:14). Jesus warned: "Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep's clothing but inwardly are ravenous wolves" (Matthew 7:15).

Proverbs 9:13–18 closes the chapter by describing Folly's call and the tragedy of succumbing to it. Solomon began this chapter of Proverbs with a call from a proverbial Lady Wisdom, for others to feast at her table. Between the two sections of this chapter, he presented two different responses to the call. A wise person responds positively, but a scoffer rejects the call. The depiction of Folly mirrors that of wisdom: making similar invitations, but with drastically different results. This parallels the evil temptations of the adulterous woman described earlier (Proverbs 7:7–27).

Wisdom is portrayed as a dignified woman who prepares a spacious house and feast. She invites those who are gullible and lacking judgment to improve their wisdom, by accepting her invitation. She urges invitees to abandon their simple ways and walk in the way of insight. Solomon then contrasts the attitudes of those who sincerely seek truth, compared to those who hate being corrected. The chapter ends with a description of Wisdom's mirror image: Folly. She is seductive and ignorant. She invites the gullible to enter her house, promising that immorality is enjoyable and pleasant. Sadly, those who are seduced do not realize her invitation leads to ruin and damnation.

In chapter 7, Solomon portrayed an evil woman (Proverbs 7:7–27). In chapter 8 he portrays wisdom as a refined lady who offers instruction to all who heed her call. Chapter 9 contrasts Lady Wisdom with the evil Woman Folly, who lures the foolish to their ruin. This extended warning about the dangers of rejecting God's wisdom leads into an extended collection of standalone proverbial comments, beginning in chapter 10.

Proverbs is best understood in context with the books of Ecclesiastes and Job. In Proverbs, “wisdom” is given in short, simple, general terms. Ecclesiastes represents wisdom based on observation and experience. This often shows how the general principles of the book of Proverbs don’t apply in absolutely every circumstance. Job represents wisdom based on the experience of suffering and injustice. All three come to the conclusion that God does indeed know best, and the most sensible course of action is to follow His will.