Proverbs 24:7

24:7 Wisdom is unattainable ¹  for a fool;

in court ²  he does not open his mouth. ³ 

Matthew 13:11

13:11 He replied, ⁴  “You have been given ⁵  the opportunity to know ⁶  the secrets ⁷  of the kingdom of heaven, but they have not.

Acts 8:31

8:31 The man ⁸  replied, “How in the world can I, ⁹  unless someone guides me?” So he invited Philip to come up and sit with him.

[24:7]  ¹ tc The MT reads רָאמוֹת (ra’mot, “corals”) – wisdom to the fool is corals, i.e., an unattainable treasure. With a slight change in the text, removing the א (alef), the reading is רָמוֹת (ramot, “high”), i.e., wisdom is too high – unattainable – for a fool. The internal evidence favors the emendation, which is followed by most English versions including KJV.

[24:7]  ² tn Heb “[city] gate,” a metonymy of subject, meaning what goes on in the gate – court cases and business transactions. So it is in these assemblies that the fool keeps quiet. The term “court” has been used in the translation for clarity. Some English versions do not emphasize the forensic connotation here: NCV “in a discussion”; NLT “When the leaders gather.”

[24:7]  ³ sn The verse portrays a fool out of his element: In a serious moment in the gathering of the community, he does not even open his mouth (a metonymy of cause, meaning “speak”). Wisdom is too high for the fool – it is beyond his ability.

[13:11]  ⁴ tn Grk “And answering, he said to them.” This construction is somewhat redundant in English and has been simplified in the translation. Here δέ (de) has not been translated.

[13:11]  ⁵ tn This is an example of a “divine passive,” with God understood to be the source of the revelation (see ExSyn 437-38).

[13:11]  ⁶ tn Grk “to you it has been given to know.” The dative pronoun occurs first, in emphatic position in the Greek text, although this position is awkward in contemporary English.

[13:11]  ⁷ tn Grk “the mysteries.”

[8:31]  ⁸ tn Grk “He”; the referent (the man) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[8:31]  ⁹ tn Grk “How am I able, unless…” The translation is based on the force of the conjunction γάρ (gar) in this context. The translation “How in the world can I?” is given in BDAG 189 s.v. γάρ 1.f.