Bible Strands
Proverbs 16:22
Understanding is a fountain of life to its possessor, but the discipline of fools is folly.
Berean Standard Bible
Follow its threads on the canvas →
Study note
Setting — The wisdom writer addresses readers within a collection of instructional sayings, positioning this verse between two statements about the speech and heart of the wise.
The words — מְקוֹר (me.Kor) translates literally as a fountain, and שֵׂכֶל (Se.khel) denotes prudence or understanding.
The thread — The text describes understanding as a life-sustaining source, a motif that repeats in Proverbs 13:14 where wise teaching turns one from death's snares. The passage contrasts this with the fool's rejection of correction, echoing the spiritual danger warned in Matthew 15:14 and the life found in John 5:24.
Why it lands — It demands the active pursuit of discernment to sustain practical life and warns that rejecting correction only multiplies foolishness.
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
Understanding is a wellspring of life unto him that hath it: but the instruction of fools is folly.
Cross-references
- Proverbs 13:14 The teaching of the wise is a fountain of life, turning one from the snares of death.
- Matthew 15:14 Disregard them! They are blind guides. If a blind man leads a blind man, both will fall into a pit.”
- John 5:24 Truly, truly, I tell you, whoever hears My word and believes Him who sent Me has eternal life and will not come under judgment. Indeed, he has crossed over from death to life.
- John 6:63 The Spirit gives life; the flesh profits nothing. The words I have spoken to you are spirit and they are life.
- Proverbs 10:11 The mouth of the righteous is a fountain of life, but the mouth of the wicked conceals violence.
- Proverbs 18:4 The words of a man’s mouth are deep waters; the fountain of wisdom is a bubbling brook.
- Proverbs 14:27 The fear of the LORD is a fountain of life, turning a man from the snares of death.
- Proverbs 15:2 The tongue of the wise commends knowledge, but the mouth of the fool spouts folly.
- Proverbs 15:28 The heart of the righteous ponders how to answer, but the mouth of the wicked blurts out evil.
- Matthew 23:16 Woe to you, blind guides! You say, ‘If anyone swears by the temple, it means nothing; but if anyone swears by the gold of the temple, he is bound by his oath.’