Proverbs 26:11–12
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26:11Like a dog that returns to its vomit,21
so a fool repeats his folly.22
26:12Do you see23 a man wise in his own eyes?24
There is more hope for a fool25 than for him.
Footnotes
- 21 The simile is graphic and debasing (cf. 2 Peter 2:22).
- 22 The point is clear: Fools repeat their disgusting mistakes, or to put it another way, whenever we repeat our disgusting mistakes we are fools. The proverb is affirming that no matter how many times a fool is warned, he never learns.
- 23 The verse simply uses a perfect tense. The meaning of the verse would be the same if this were interpreted as an affirmation rather than as an interrogative. The first line calls such a person to one’s attention.
- 24 Heb “in his own eyes” (so , , ). The subject matter of the verse is the person who is wise in his own opinion. Self-conceit is actually part of the folly that the book of Proverbs criticizes; those who think they are wise even though they are not are impossible to help. For someone to think he is wise when he is not makes him a conceited ignoramus (W. G. Plaut, Proverbs, 268).
- 25 Previous passages in the book of Proverbs all but deny the possibility of hope for the fool. So this proverb is saying there is absolutely no hope for the self-conceited person, and there might be a slight hope for the fool—he may yet figure out that he really is a fool.
The NET Bible First Edition, Copyright 1996-2005 by Biblical Studies Press
In other versions
ESVEnglish Standard Version
Like a dog that returns to his vomit
is a fool who repeats his folly.
Do you see a man who is wise in his own eyes?
There is more hope for a fool than for him.
Copyright 2001 Crossway Bibles
NIVNew International Version (2011)
As a dog returns to its vomit,
so fools repeat their folly.
Do you see a person wise in their own eyes?
There is more hope for a fool than for them.
Copyright 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 Biblica, Inc.
CSBChristian Standard Bible
As a dog returns to its vomit,
so also a fool repeats his foolishness.
Do you see a person who is wise in his own eyes?
There is more hope for a fool than for him.
Copyright 2017 Holman Bible Publishers
NLTNew Living Translation
As a dog returns to its vomit,
so a fool repeats his foolishness.
There is more hope for fools
than for people who think they are wise.
Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers. All rights reserved.
LEBThe Lexham English Bible
Like a dog returning to his vomit
is a fool reverting to his folly.
Do you see a man wise in his own eyes?
There is more hope for a fool than for him.
Copyright 2012 Lexham Press
KJV 1900King James Version
As a dog returneth to his vomit,
So a fool returneth to his folly.
Seest thou a man wise in his own conceit?
There is more hope of a fool than of him.
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