John Gill's Bible Commentary Ver. 8. The wisdom of the prudent [is] to understand his way , etc.] The way of his calling, in which he should abide, and how to manage it in the best manner; the way of his duty, that he may walk inoffensively both towards God and men; and the way of life and salvation, which is by Jesus Christ, which to understand and to walk in is the highest wisdom and prudence; but the folly of fools [is] deceit : or “the wisdom of fools”, which the opposition requires, and is meant, and is what the Holy Ghost calls “folly”, as elsewhere, ( 1 Corinthians 3:19); this is itself “deceit”; it is science, falsely so called; it lies in tricking and deceiving; and the issue of it is, not only the deceiving of others, but themselves also: such is the folly of the man of sin and followers, which lies in deceiving the inhabitants of the earth with their sorceries and superstitions, with their lying wonders and miracles; (see 2 Thessalonians 2:10) ( Revelation 13:14 18:23).
Matthew Henry Commentary
Verses 8 - We are travellers, whose concern is, not to spy out wonders, but to ge to their journey's end; to understand the rules we are to walk by, als the ends we are to walk toward. The bad man cheats himself, and goes of in his mistake.
Original Hebrew חכמת2451 ערום6175 הבין995 דרכו1870 ואולת200 כסילים3684 מרמה׃4820
