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[a]Wise words are beyond fools’ reach,(A)
    in the assembly they do not open their mouth;
As they calculate how to do evil,
    people brand them troublemakers.
The scheme of a fool gains no acceptance,
    the scoffer is an abomination to the community.

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Footnotes

  1. 24:7–9 The verses are unclear; most scholars take them as two or even three single sayings, but, taken singly, the verses are banal. They are best taken as a single statement. Just as vv. 3–6 described the advantages of wisdom, so vv. 7–9 describe the disadvantages of its opposite, folly: it alienates one from the community (v. 7), for fools become notorious (v. 8), dooming their plans and ostracizing themselves.