¹⁸ Don’t let anyone deceive himself. If any one of you thinks he is wise in matters pertaining to this world, he is going to be really disappointed. In fact, one must be deemed a fool by worldly standards in order to become truly wise ¹⁹ because the wisdom of this rebellious and broken world looks like foolishness when put next to God. So it stands in Scripture, “He catches the wise in their deceitful plotting.”^{[a] 20} And the Scriptures add, “The Lord knows the highest thoughts of the wise, and they are worthless.”^[b]