Proverbs 10:8

The wise person ¹  accepts instructions, ²  but the one who speaks foolishness ³  will come to ruin. ⁴ 

Ps 119:34; Pr 1:5; Pr 9:9; Pr 10:10; Pr 12:1; Pr 12:13; Pr 13:3; Pr 14:8; Pr 14:23; Pr 18:6,7; Ec 10:12; Jas 3:13

¹ tn Heb “the wise of heart” (so NASB, NRSV). The genitive noun לֵב (lev, “heart”) functions as an attributive adjective: “the wise heart.” The term לֵב functions as a synecdoche of part (= heart) for the whole person (= person). The heart is emphasized because it is the seat of wisdom (BDB 524 s.v. 3.b).

² tn Heb “commandments.”

³ tn Heb “fool of lips.” The phrase is a genitive of specification: “a fool in respect to lips.” The term “lips” is a metonymy of cause (= lips) for effect (= speech). This person talks foolishness; he is too busy talking to pay attention to instruction.

⁴ tn The Niphal verb לָבַט (lavat) means “to be thrust down [or, away]”; that is, “to be ruined; to fall” or “to stumble” (e.g., Hos 4:14). The fool who refuses to listen to advice – but abides by his own standards which he freely expresses – will suffer the predicaments that he creates.