Bible Strands
Proverbs 14:15
The simple man believes every word, but the prudent man watches his steps.
Berean Standard Bible
Follow its threads on the canvas →
Study note
Setting — Proverbs is undated wisdom literature, traditionally ascribed to Solomon, addressed to a general audience with no specific occasion.
The words — פֶּ֭תִי (p̄eṯî) means "naive/simple" and עָר֗וּם ('ārûm) means "sensible/prudent"; the verb יָבִ֥ין (yāḇîn) is "he considers" or "he understands," not merely "watches" as the BSB renders it.
The thread — Proverbs 14:8 frames the same contrast as discerning one's way versus being deceived; 1 John 4:1 and Ephesians 5:17 extend the principle to testing spirits and understanding God's will.
Why it lands — It asks the reader to stop treating belief as passive reception and start treating it as an act of judgment.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Hebrew words
King James Version
The simple believeth every word: but the prudent man looketh well to his going.
Cross-references
- Ephesians 5:17 Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the Lord’s will is.
- Proverbs 14:8 The wisdom of the prudent is to discern his way, but the folly of fools deceives them.
- 1 John 4:1 Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God. For many false prophets have gone out into the world.
- Proverbs 4:26 Make a level path for your feet, and all your ways will be sure.
- Proverbs 27:12 The prudent see danger and take cover, but the simple keep going and pay the penalty.
- Ephesians 4:14 Then we will no longer be infants, tossed about by the waves and carried around by every wind of teaching and by the clever cunning of men in their deceitful scheming.
- Proverbs 22:3 The prudent see danger and take cover, but the simple keep going and suffer the consequences.
- Romans 16:18 For such people are not serving our Lord Christ, but their own appetites. By smooth talk and flattery they deceive the hearts of the naive.
- Acts 13:7 an attendant of the proconsul, Sergius Paulus. The proconsul, a man of intelligence, summoned Barnabas and Saul because he wanted to hear the word of God.
- Amos 5:13 Therefore, the prudent keep silent in such times, for the days are evil.