'Folly' in the Bible

then they shall bring her out to the doorway of her father’s house, and the men of her city shall stone her to death because she has committed a deliberate sin in Israel by playing the prostitute in her father’s house. So you shall remove the evil from among you.

Then the man, the master of the house, went out and said to them, “No, my fellow citizens, please do not act so wickedly. Since this man has come to my house [as my guest], do not commit this sacrilege.

So I took my concubine and cut her [corpse] in pieces and sent her [body parts] throughout the land of the inheritance of Israel; for the men of Gibeah have committed a lewd and disgraceful act in Israel.

and we will take ten men out of a hundred throughout the tribes of Israel, and a hundred out of a thousand, and a thousand out of ten thousand to bring provisions for the men, so that when they come to Gibeah of Benjamin, they may punish them for all the despicable acts which they have committed in Israel.”

Please do not let my lord pay attention to this worthless man, Nabal, for as his name is, so is he. Nabal (fool) is his name and foolishness (stupidity) is with him; but I your maidservant did not see my lord’s young men whom you sent.

‘God puts no trust or confidence, even in His [heavenly] servants,And He charges His angels with error.

Now therefore, take for yourselves seven bulls and seven rams, and go to My servant Job, and offer up a burnt offering for yourselves, and My servant Job will pray for you. For I will accept him [and his prayer] so that I may not deal with you according to your folly, because you have not spoken of Me the thing that is right, as My servant Job has.”

O God, You know my folly;My wrongs are not hidden from You.

I will hear [with expectant hope] what God the Lord will say,For He will speak peace to His people, to His godly ones—But let them not turn again to folly.

He will die for lack of instruction (discipline),And in the greatness of his foolishness he will go astray and be lost.

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

The crown of the wise is their wealth [of wisdom],But the foolishness of [closed-minded] fools is [nothing but] folly.

He who is slow to anger has great understanding [and profits from his self-control],But he who is quick-tempered exposes and exalts his foolishness [for all to see].

The tongue of the wise speaks knowledge that is pleasing and acceptable,But the [babbling] mouth of fools spouts folly.

The mind of the intelligent and discerning seeks knowledge and eagerly inquires after it,But the mouth of the [stubborn] fool feeds on foolishness.

Foolishness is joy to him who is without heart and lacks [intelligent, common] sense,But a man of understanding walks uprightly [making his course straight].

Understanding (spiritual insight) is a [refreshing and boundless] wellspring of life to those who have it,But to give instruction and correction to fools is foolishness.

Let a man meet a [ferocious] bear robbed of her cubsRather than the [angry, narcissistic] fool in his folly.

He who answers before he hears [the facts]—It is folly and shame to him.

Do not answer [nor pretend to agree with the frivolous comments of] a [closed-minded] fool according to his folly,Otherwise you, even you, will be like him.

Answer [and correct the erroneous concepts of] a fool according to his folly,Otherwise he will be wise in his own eyes [if he thinks you agree with him].

Like a dog that returns to his vomitIs a fool who repeats his foolishness.

And I set my mind to know [practical] wisdom and to discern [the character of] madness and folly [in which men seem to find satisfaction]; I realized that this too is a futile grasping and chasing after the wind.

I explored with my mind how to gratify myself with wine while [at the same time] having my mind remain steady and guide me wisely; and how to take control of foolishness, until I could see what was good for the sons of men to do under heaven all the days of their lives.

So I turned to consider [secular] wisdom, madness, and folly; for what will the man do who succeeds the king? Nothing except what has already been done.

Then I saw that [even secular] wisdom [that brings sorrow] is better than [the pleasures of] folly and self-indulgence as light excels darkness.

I turned around and directed my heart to know, to investigate and to seek [skillful and godly] wisdom and the reason for things, and to know that wickedness is folly and that foolishness is madness [leading to stupidity and recklessness].

Dead flies make the oil of the perfumer give off a foul odor; so a little foolishness [in one who is esteemed] outweighs wisdom and honor.

folly is set in many exalted places and in great dignity while the rich sit in humble places.

For you will be ashamed [of the degradation] of the oaks in which you took [idolatrous] pleasure,And you will be ashamed of the gardens [of passion] which you have chosen [for pagan worship].

Therefore the Lord does not rejoice over their young men,Nor does He have compassion on their fatherless or their widows;For every one of them is godless and an evildoer,And every mouth is speaking foolishness.In spite of all this, God’s anger does not turn awayBut His hand is still stretched out [in judgment].

For the fool speaks nonsense,And his heart (mind) plans wickedness:To practice ungodliness and to speak error concerning the Lord,To keep the craving of the hungry unsatisfiedAnd to deprive the thirsty of drink.

Do you [who worship idols] not know? Have you not heard?Has it not been told to you from the beginning?Have you not understood from the foundations of the earth [the omnipotence of God and the stupidity of bowing to idols]?

“And I have seen a foolish and an offensive thing in the prophets of Samaria:They prophesied by Baal and caused My people Israel to go astray.

because they have acted foolishly in Israel and have committed adultery with their neighbors’ wives and in My Name have spoken false and concocted words, which I did not command them. I am He who knows and I am a witness,” says the Lord.’”