Concerning Edom.
Thus says the Lord of hosts,
“Is there no longer any wisdom in Teman?
Has good counsel vanished from the intelligent and prudent?
Has their wisdom decayed?

One of the young men said, “Behold, I have seen a son of Jesse the Bethlehemite who is a skillful musician, a brave and competent man, a warrior, discerning (prudent, eloquent) in speech, and a handsome man; and the Lord is with him.”

Some of those who are [spiritually] wise and have insight will fall [as martyrs] in order to refine, to purge and to make those among God’s people pure, until the end time; because it is yet to come at the time appointed [by God].

Whoever is [spiritually] wise, let him understand these things;
Whoever is [spiritually] discerning and understanding, let him know them.
For the ways of the Lord are right,
And the righteous will walk in them,
But transgressors will stumble and fall in them.

Therefore, he who is prudent and has insight will keep silent at such a [corrupt and evil] time, for it is an evil time [when people will not listen to truth and will disregard those of good character].

My son, be attentive to my wisdom [godly wisdom learned by costly experience],
Incline your ear to my understanding;

“So everyone who hears these words of Mine and acts on them, will be like a wise man [a far-sighted, practical, and sensible man] who built his house on the rock.

When there are many words, transgression and offense are unavoidable,
But he who controls his lips and keeps thoughtful silence is wise.

The [arrogant] fool’s anger is quickly known [because he lacks self-control and common sense],
But a prudent man ignores an insult.

A shrewd man is reluctant to display his knowledge [until the proper time],
But the heart of [over-confident] fools proclaims foolishness.

Every prudent and self-disciplined man acts with knowledge,
But a [closed-minded] fool [who refuses to learn] displays his foolishness [for all to see].

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

The naive or inexperienced person [is easily misled and] believes every word he hears,
But the prudent man [is discreet and astute and] considers well where he is going.

The naive [are unsophisticated and easy to exploit and] inherit foolishness,
But the sensible [are thoughtful and far-sighted and] are crowned with knowledge.

The wise in heart will be called understanding,
And sweet speech increases persuasiveness and learning [in both speaker and listener].

The mind of the prudent [always] acquires knowledge,
And the ear of the wise [always] seeks knowledge.

House and wealth are the inheritance from fathers,
But a wise, understanding, and sensible wife is [a gift and blessing] from the Lord.

Five of them were foolish [thoughtless, silly, and careless], and five were wise [far-sighted, practical, and sensible].

A prudent and far-sighted person sees the evil [of sin] and hides himself [from it],
But the naive continue on and are punished [by suffering the consequences of sin].

A prudent man sees evil and hides himself and avoids it,
But the naive [who are easily misled] continue on and are punished [by suffering the consequences of sin].

Woe (judgment is coming) to those who are wise in their own eyes
And clever and shrewd in their own sight!

And his master commended the unjust manager [not for his misdeeds, but] because he had acted shrewdly [by preparing for his future unemployment]; for the sons of this age [the non-believers] are shrewder in relation to their own kind [that is, to the ways of the secular world] than are the sons of light [the believers].

We are [regarded as] fools for Christ, but you are so wise in Christ; we are weak, but you are strong; you are highly esteemed, but we are dishonored.