A fool uttereth all his mind: but a wise man keepeth it in till afterwards.
This proverb belongs to the last fifteen chapters of Proverbs, in the section beginning at chapter 25 that Hezekiah's scribes copied out from the three thousand proverbs Solomon wrote. It is part of Hezekiah's collection of Solomonic proverbs, chapters 25 to 29, written about the year one thousand and later.
The word rendered mind denotes roo-agh, which can mean the rational soul, mind, or spirit. It includes the seat of feelings and passions and a person's disposition, will, counsel, or purpose.
The verse contrasts the fool who blurts out all that is in his mind at once with the wise man who holds it back until afterward. The wise man culls his words from his thoughts and speaks only part of them, while the fool tells all he thinks. The wise person thinks before speaking, while the fool speaks first and only afterward reflects on what he has said.
It calls for sparing words with a cool and excellent spirit. It calls for being swift to hear and slow to speak and slow to wrath. It calls for refraining the lips because a multitude of words does not lack sin, so that many words inevitably involve sin.
The same rule governs dreams, which are as various as thoughts: wisdom withholds dreams and folly repeats them. God gives dreams of public nature and interest to leaders and kings, but that does not make every dream of an obscure person important to all. Even when God condescends to help a lonely one by a dream it is doubtful whether telling it would edify all, especially if the dreamer is a little vain.
This proverb belongs to the last fifteen chapters of Proverbs, in the section beginning at chapter 25 that Hezekiah's scribes copied out from the three thousand proverbs Solomon wrote. It is part of Hezekiah's collection of Solomonic proverbs, chapters 25 to 29, written about the year one thousand and later.
The word rendered mind denotes roo-agh, which can mean the rational soul, mind, or spirit. It includes the seat of feelings and passions and a person's disposition, will, counsel, or purpose.
The verse contrasts the fool who blurts out all that is in his mind at once with the wise man who holds it back until afterward. The wise man culls his words from his thoughts and speaks only part of them, while the fool tells all he thinks. The wise person thinks before speaking, while the fool speaks first and only afterward reflects on what he has said.
It calls for sparing words with a cool and excellent spirit. It calls for being swift to hear and slow to speak and slow to wrath. It calls for refraining the lips because a multitude of words does not lack sin, so that many words inevitably involve sin.
The same rule governs dreams, which are as various as thoughts: wisdom withholds dreams and folly repeats them. God gives dreams of public nature and interest to leaders and kings, but that does not make every dream of an obscure person important to all. Even when God condescends to help a lonely one by a dream it is doubtful whether telling it would edify all, especially if the dreamer is a little vain.