Proverbs 12:16

A fool’s annoyance ¹  is known at once, ²  but the prudent ³  overlooks ⁴  an insult.

A fool shows his annoyance at once, but a prudent man overlooks an insult.

A fool’s anger is known at once, But a prudent man conceals dishonor.

A fool is quick–tempered, but a wise person stays calm when insulted.

Fools have short fuses and explode all too quickly; the prudent quietly shrug off insults.

A foolish man lets his trouble be openly seen, but a sharp man keeps shame secret.

Fools show their anger at once, but the prudent ignore an insult.

A fool’s wrath is known at once, But a prudent man covers shame.

A fool’s annoyance ¹  is known at once, ²  but the prudent ³  overlooks ⁴  an insult.

¹ tn Heb “The fool, at once his vexation is known.” This rhetorically emphatic construction uses an independent nominative absolute, which is then followed by the formal subject with a suffix. The construction focuses attention on “the fool,” then states what is to be said about him.

² tn Heb “on the day” or “the same day.”

sn The fool is impatient and unwise, and so flares up immediately when anything bothers him. W. McKane says that the fool’s reaction is “like an injured animal and so his opponent knows that he has been wounded” (Proverbs [OTL], 442).

³ tn Heb “shrewd.”

⁴ tn Heb “covers.” The verb כָּסָה (casah) means “covers” in the sense of ignores or bides his time. The point is not that he does not respond at all, but that he is shrewd enough to handle the criticism or insult in the best way – not instinctively and irrationally.