more wisdom from proverbs

Let's look at some more words in the book of Proverbs.

Proverbs 5:4 warns against adultery and says, “but in the end she is bitter as gall, sharp as a double-edged sword”

The word gall is associated with suffering, poison, and judgment. It’s a very bitter desert plant. A common meaning is wormwood.

Proverbs 11:3 The integrity of the upright guides them, but the unfaithful are destroyed by their duplicity.”

The word duplicity has several different words to describe it. It means double heartedness, two faces, one shown, one hidden, saying one thing while intending another. An outward honesty with inward deceit. It's not just lying once its living divided. In Hebrew, the word is twistiness, crookedness, moral distortion, and intentional deceit. Think of a bent path that looks straight at first but leads you off course.

Proverbs 1:7 “Fools despise wisdom and instruction.”

A fool is someone who rejects God's wisdom, despises instruction, and lives as if consequences don’t apply. Trusts self over truth. Thick skull, obstinate, hears corrections but resists it, emotionally driven, repeats the same mistakes.

Proverbs 18:2 A fool takes no pleasure in understanding but only in expressing his opinion. Someone who could learn but won't.