אִוֶּ֫לֶת

Psalm 38:5 אִוַּלְתִּֽי׃ folly my

My wounds are foul and festering because of my sinful folly.

Psalm 69:5 לְאִוַּלְתִּ֑י <to> folly my

You know my folly, O God, and my guilt is not hidden from You.

Proverbs 5:23 אִוַּלְתּ֣וֹ foolishness his

He dies for lack of discipline, led astray by his own great folly.

Proverbs 12:23 אִוֶּֽלֶת׃ foolishness

A shrewd man keeps his knowledge to himself, but a foolish heart proclaims its folly.

Here: Folly that is moral as well as mental: thick-headed and self-destructive, the opposite of wisdom. It is the final word and the payoff. What the fool broadcasts, believing it to be knowledge, turns out to be folly.

Proverbs 13:16 אִוֶּֽלֶת׃ foolishness

Every prudent man acts with knowledge, but a fool displays his folly.

Here: Folly with a moral edge: a stubborn, careless lack of sense that harms the fool and others. It is set directly against "knowledge" in the first line. There is no "his" in the Hebrew. English adds it.

Proverbs 14:1 וְ֝אִוֶּ֗לֶת and a foolish woman

Every wise woman builds her house, but a foolish one tears it down with her own hands.

Here: The noun 'folly', not the adjective 'foolish'. The line sets Folly itself (or the woman who is folly through and through) against the wise woman. In Proverbs this is stubborn, morally twisted thick-headedness, not silliness.

Proverbs 14:8 וְאִוֶּ֖לֶת and [the] foolishness of

The wisdom of the prudent is to discern his way, but the folly of fools deceives them.

Here: "But the folly of…": the fool's characteristic outlook, a stubborn moral and practical perversity, not mere silliness. It stands in the same position as "wisdom" in line one.

Proverbs 14:17 אִוֶּ֑לֶת foolishness

A quick-tempered man acts foolishly, and a devious man is hated.

Here: The folly of the ʼewil, the hard, stubborn fool of Proverbs. It is moral and practical stupidity with real damage: rash words, quarrels, wrecked relationships. In Proverbs this fool is the one who shows his irritation right away (12:16) and rushes into a quarrel (20:3).

Proverbs 14:18 אִוֶּ֑לֶת foolishness

The simple inherit folly, but the prudent are crowned with knowledge.

Proverbs 14:24 אִוֶּ֖לֶת אִוֶּֽלֶת׃ [the] folly of, [is] folly

The crown of the wise is their wealth, but the effort of fools is folly.

Proverbs 14:29 אִוֶּֽלֶת׃ foolishness

A patient man has great understanding, but a quick-tempered man promotes folly.

Here: The folly of the ʾewil, the thick-headed and morally careless fool who in Proverbs is quick to quarrel (20:3) and shows irritation immediately (12:16). This is not just a lack of intelligence. It is a way of life that harms the fool and others.

Proverbs 15:2 אִוֶּֽלֶת׃ foolishness

The tongue of the wise commends knowledge, but the mouth of the fool spouts folly.

Here: "Folly": not harmless silliness but a moral twistedness that damages the speaker and other people. It is what flows out when nothing checks the flow.

Proverbs 15:14 אִוֶּֽלֶת׃ foolishness

A discerning heart seeks knowledge, but the mouth of a fool feeds on folly.

Here: Folly in the strong sense found in Proverbs: a morally twisted foolishness that despises correction (1:7; 22:15). It is the fools' fodder, the opposite of the knowledge the discerning heart hunts for.

Proverbs 15:21 אִ֭וֶּלֶת foolishness

Folly is joy to one who lacks judgment, but a man of understanding walks a straight path.

Here: Not harmless silliness. This is the stubborn, morally loaded foolishness of the ʾewil, the fool in Proverbs who will not take correction. It comes first for emphasis: 'Folly, that is what he enjoys.'

Proverbs 16:22 אִוֶּֽלֶת׃ [is] foolishness

Understanding is a fountain of life to its possessor, but the discipline of fools is folly.

Here: The fool's defining trait: obstinate, self-destructive senselessness. It closes the verse with a sound echo of the word before it (’ewilim … ’iwwelet), so the fool and his folly close in on each other.

Proverbs 17:12 בְּאִוַּלְתּֽוֹ׃ in foolishness his

It is better to meet a bear robbed of her cubs than a fool in his folly.

Here: 'In his folly' means caught up in it and acting it out. The picture is the fool in full swing, carried along by his own senselessness, which Proverbs links to hot temper and reckless talk.

Proverbs 18:13 אִוֶּ֥לֶת [is] folly

He who answers a matter before he hears it—this is folly and disgrace to him.

Here: The behaviour typical of the ʾewil, the fool of Proverbs, who is stubborn, will not be taught and talks too much. The word names a fault of character, not a slip in reasoning.

Proverbs 19:3 אִוֶּ֣לֶת [the] folly of

A man’s own folly subverts his way, yet his heart rages against the LORD.

Here: The stubborn, morally twisted foolishness of the ʾewil, the fool who will not be taught. It stands first in the line and is the grammatical subject: it is folly that does the damage.

Proverbs 22:15 אִ֭וֶּלֶת foolishness

Foolishness is bound up in the heart of a child, but the rod of discipline drives it far from him.

Here: The way of the ʾewil, the fool who will not take correction. In Proverbs this is a moral and religious failure that leads toward death, not childish silliness. It comes first in the sentence for emphasis: folly is the problem being named.

Proverbs 24:9 אִוֶּ֣לֶת foolishness

A foolish scheme is sin, and a mocker is detestable to men.

Here: Moral folly: the stubborn, self-sure foolishness of the person Proverbs calls the ʾewil, who despises correction. Joined to the first word it means 'folly's scheming', the plans that come out of that kind of character.

Proverbs 26:4 כְּאִוַּלְתּ֑וֹ according to foolishness his

Do not answer a fool according to his folly, or you yourself will be like him.

Here: "According to his folly": the preposition ke- ("like, in keeping with") plus "folly" plus "his." It warns against answering in a way that copies his folly, playing by his rules or on his level. The sound play kesil … ke'iwwalto ties the fool and his way of answering together.

Proverbs 26:5 כְּאִוַּלְתּ֑וֹ according to foolishness his

Answer a fool according to his folly, lest he become wise in his own eyes.

Here: 'Like / according to' + 'folly' + 'his'. The phrase is exactly the same as in verse 4. Here it most naturally means answering in a way that fits and meets his folly, taking on the nonsense he has actually said. In verse 4 the stress falls on answering in the same foolish manner he uses.

Proverbs 26:11 בְאִוַּלְתּֽוֹ׃ <in> foolishness his

As a dog returns to its vomit, so a fool repeats his folly.

Here: 'With / in his folly.' ʾIwwelet is folly as a moral flaw: thick-headed, self-destructive perversity that comes back on the person who has it. 'His own' matches 'its own' vomit: both go back to what came from inside them.

Proverbs 27:22 אִוַּלְתּֽוֹ׃ פ foolishness his

Though you grind a fool like grain with mortar and a pestle, yet his folly will not depart from him.

Here: 'His folly'. It comes from the same root as 'the fool', so the verse is framed by ʾĕwîl … ʾiwwelet: the fool and his foolishness belong together and stay together.