Proverbs 8:5

8:5 You who are naive, discern ¹  wisdom!

And you fools, understand discernment! ² 

Isaiah 6:9

6:9 He said, “Go and tell these people:

‘Listen continually, but don’t understand!

Look continually, but don’t perceive!’

Acts 8:30

8:30 So Philip ran up ³  to it ⁴  and heard the man ⁵  reading Isaiah the prophet. He ⁶  asked him, ⁷  “Do you understand what you’re reading?”

¹ tn The imperative of בִּין (bin) means “to understand; to discern.” The call is for the simple to understand what wisdom is, not just to gain it.

² tn Heb “heart.” The noun לֵב (lev, “heart”) often functions metonymically for wisdom, understanding, discernment.

³ tn The participle προσδραμών (prosdramwn) is regarded as attendant circumstance.

⁴ tn The words “to it” are not in the Greek text but are implied.

⁵ tn Grk “heard him”; the referent (the man) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

⁶ tn Grk “and he.” Because of the length of the Greek sentence, the conjunction καί (kai) has not been translated here. Instead a new English sentence is begun.

⁷ tn Grk “he said”; but since what follows is a question, it is better English style to translate the introduction to the question “he asked him.”