Proverbs 12:16

A fool’s annoyance ¹  is known at once, ²  but the prudent ³  overlooks ⁴  an insult.

biblegateway Pro 12:16

A fool shows his annoyance at once, but a prudent man overlooks an insult.

biblegateway Pro 12:16

A fool’s anger is known at once, But a prudent man conceals dishonor.

biblegateway Pro 12:16

A fool is quick–tempered, but a wise person stays calm when insulted.

biblegateway Pro 12:16

Fools have short fuses and explode all too quickly; the prudent quietly shrug off insults.

SABDAweb Pro 12:16

A foolish man lets his trouble be openly seen, but a sharp man keeps shame secret.

bibleoremus Pro 12:16

Fools show their anger at once, but the prudent ignore an insult.

biblegateway Pro 12:16

A fool’s wrath is known at once, But a prudent man covers shame.

biblegateway Pro 12:16

A fool’s annoyance ¹  is known at once, ²  but the prudent ³  overlooks ⁴  an insult.

¹ tn Heb “The fool, at once his vexation is known.” This rhetorically emphatic construction uses an independent nominative absolute, which is then followed by the formal subject with a suffix. The construction focuses attention on “the fool,” then states what is to be said about him.

² tn Heb “on the day” or “the same day.”

² sn The fool is impatient and unwise, and so flares up immediately when anything bothers him. W. McKane says that the fool’s reaction is “like an injured animal and so his opponent knows that he has been wounded” (Proverbs [OTL], 442).

³ tn Heb “shrewd.”

⁴ tn Heb “covers.” The verb כָּסָה (casah) means “covers” in the sense of ignores or bides his time. The point is not that he does not respond at all, but that he is shrewd enough to handle the criticism or insult in the best way – not instinctively and irrationally.