Pro 1:22 | NET2full | STEP | “ How long will you simpletons love naiveté ? How long have mockers delighted in mockery ? And how long will fools hate knowledge ?

Proverbs 1:22

22 “How long will you simpletons ^{▼▼tn Wisdom addresses three types of people: simpletons (פְּתָיִם, petayim), scoffers (לֵצִים, letsim) and fools (כְּסִילִים, kesilim). For the term “simpleton” see note on 1:4. Each of these three types of people is satisfied with the life being led and will not listen to reason. See J. A. Emerton, “A Note on the Hebrew Text of Proverbs 1:22-23,” JTS 19 (1968): 609-14.} love naiveté? ^{▼▼tn Heb “simplicity” (so KJV, NASB); NAB “inanity.” The noun פֶּתִי (peti) means “simplicity; lack of wisdom” (BDB 834 s.v.; HALOT 989 s.v. II פֶּתִי). It is related to the term פְּתָיִם (petayim) “simpletons” and so forms a striking wordplay. This lack of wisdom and moral simplicity is inherent in the character of the naive person.}
How long ^{▼▼tn The words “how long” appear in the first line of the verse and are understood by implication in each line. English style requires repeating the question words because of the changing of the tense of the verbs in the three lines.} have mockers ^{▼▼sn The term לֵצִים (letsim, “scoffers; mockers”) comes from the root לִיץ (lits, “to scorn; to mock; to speak indirectly” (BDB 539 s.v. לִיץ). They are cynical and defiant freethinkers who ridicule the righteous and all for which they stand (e.g., Ps 1:1).} delighted in ^{▼▼tn The Hebrew verb (חָמַד, khamad) is often translated in the future tense to match the other verbs in the verse. But “will love” and “will hate” are both imperfect forms of stative verbs which must be future. In contrast, the verb “to take pleasure; to delight” (חָמַד, khamad) is in the perfect conjugation and is morphologically dynamic (as indicated by its imperfect form ‏יַחְמֹד, yakhmod). Therefore it is past or perfective. By switching the time frame, the rebuke embedded in the question looks forward and back, both at what should not continue and what should not have been done.} mockery? ^{▼▼tn Heb “for themselves.” The ethical dative לָהֶם (lahem, “for themselves”) is normally untranslated. It is a rhetorical device emphasizing that they take delight in mockery for their own self-interests.}
And how long ^{▼▼tn The words “how long” appear in the first line of the verse and are understood by implication in each line. English style requires repeating the question words because of the changing of the tense of the verbs in the three lines.} will fools ^{▼▼sn The term “fool” (כְּסִיל, kesil) refers to the morally insensitive dullard (BDB 493 s.v.).} hate knowledge?