Amsal 26:12

26:12 Do you see ¹  a man wise in his own eyes? ² 

There is more hope for a fool ³  than for him.

Pengkhotbah 8:3

8:3 Do not rush out of the king’s presence in haste – do not delay when the matter is unpleasant, ⁴ 

for he can do whatever he pleases.

[26:12]  ¹ tn 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.

[26:12]  ² tn Heb “in his own eyes” (so NAB, NASB, NIV).

[26:12]  sn 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).

[26:12]  ³ sn 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.

[8:3]  ⁴ tn Or “do not stand up for a bad cause.”