Amsal 26:16

26:16 The sluggard is wiser in his own estimation ¹ 

than seven people who respond with good sense. ² 

Yesaya 5:21

5:21 Those who think they are wise are as good as dead, ³ 

those who think they possess understanding. ⁴ 

Roma 11:25

11:25 For I do not want you to be ignorant of this mystery, brothers and sisters, ⁵  so that you may not be conceited: A partial hardening has happened to Israel ⁶  until the full number ⁷  of the Gentiles has come in.

Roma 12:16

12:16 Live in harmony with one another; do not be haughty but associate with the lowly. ⁸  Do not be conceited. ⁹ 

[26:16]  ¹ tn Heb “in his eyes.” The lazy person thinks that he has life all figured out and has chosen the wise course of action – but he is simply lazy. J. H. Greenstone says, for example, “Much anti-intellectualism may be traced to such rationalization for laziness” (Proverbs, 269).

[26:16]  ² tn The term means “taste; judgment.” The related verb means “to taste; to perceive,” that is, “to examine by tasting,” or examine by experiencing (e.g., Ps 34:9). Here the idea is expressed with the participle in construct, “those returners [of] good sense,” those who answer tastefully, with discretion. Cf. NIV “who (+ can NRSV) answer discreetly.”

[5:21]  ³ tn Heb “Woe [to] the wise in their own eyes.” See the note at v. 8.

[5:21]  ⁴ tn Heb “[who] before their faces are understanding.”

[5:21]  sn Verses 18-21 contain three “woe-sayings” that are purely accusatory and have no formal announcement of judgment attached (as in the “woe-sayings” recorded in vv. 8-17). While this lack of symmetry is odd, it has a clear rhetorical purpose. Having established a pattern in vv. 8-17, the prophet deviates from it in vv. 18-21 to grab his audience’s attention. By placing the “woes” in rapid succession and heaping up the accusatory elements, he highlights the people’s guilt and introduces an element of tension and anticipation. One is reasonably certain that judgment will come, and when it does, it will be devastating. This anticipated devastation is described in frightening detail after the sixth and final woe (see vv. 22-30).

[11:25]  ⁵ tn Grk “brothers.” See note on the phrase “brothers and sisters” in 1:13.

[11:25]  ⁶ tn Or “Israel has experienced a hardening in part until the full number of the Gentiles has come in.”

[11:25]  ⁷ tn Grk “fullness.”

[12:16]  ⁸ tn Or “but give yourselves to menial tasks.” The translation depends on whether one takes the adjective “lowly” as masculine or neuter.

[12:16]  ⁹ tn Grk “Do not be wise in your thinking.”