Proverbs 14:8

The wisdom of the shrewd person ¹  is to discern ²  his way, but the folly of fools is deception. ³ 

The wisdom of the prudent is to give thought to their ways, but the folly of fools is deception.

The wisdom of the sensible is to understand his way, But the foolishness of fools is deceit.

The wise look ahead to see what is coming, but fools deceive themselves.

The wisdom of the wise keeps life on track; the foolishness of fools lands them in the ditch.

The wisdom of the man of good sense makes his way clear; but the unwise behaviour of the foolish is deceit.

It is the wisdom of the clever to understand where they go, but the folly of fools misleads.

The wisdom of the prudent is to understand his way, But the folly of fools is deceit.

The wisdom of the shrewd person ¹  is to discern ²  his way, but the folly of fools is deception. ³ 

¹ tn Or “the prudent [person]” (cf. KJV, NASB, NIV).

² tn The Hiphil infinitive construct denotes purpose. Those who are shrewd will use it to give careful consideration to all their ways.

³ tn The word means “deception,” but some suggest “self-deception” here (W. McKane, Proverbs [OTL], 466; and D. W. Thomas, “Textual and Philological Notes on Some Passages in the Book of Proverbs,” VTSup 3 [1955]: 286); cf. NLT “fools deceive themselves.” The parallelism would favor this, but there is little support for it. The word usually means “craft practiced on others.” If the line is saying the fool is deceitful, there is only a loose antithesis between the cola.