Proverbs 14:18

The naive inherit ¹  folly, but the shrewd ²  are crowned ³  with knowledge.

Pr 3:35; Pr 4:7-9; Pr 11:29; Pr 11:30; Jer 16:19; Jer 44:17; Da 12:3; Mt 23:29-32; 2Ti 4:8; 1Pe 1:18; 1Pe 5:4

¹ tc G. R. Driver, however, proposed reading the verb as “are adorned” from הלה (“Problems in the Hebrew Text of Proverbs,” Bib 32 [1951]: 181). A similar reading is followed by a number of English versions (e.g., NAB, NRSV, NLT).

sn The proverb anticipates what the simple will receive, assuming they remain simpletons.

² tn Or “prudent” (KJV, NASB, NIV); NRSV, TEV “clever.”

³ tn The meaning of יַכְתִּרוּ (yakhtiru, Hiphil imperfect of כָּתַר, katar) is elusive. It may not mean “to be crowned” or “to crown themselves,” but “to encircle” or “to embrace.” BDB 509 s.v. כָּתַר Hiph suggests “to throw out crowns” (throw out knowledge as a crown) or “to encompass knowledge,” i.e., possess it (parallel to inherit).