This saying points out that a conceited person, one who is foolishly over-confident, is worse than a fool.

“Do you see a man who is wise in his own eyes?”: In Hebrew this line is a question, as in Revised Standard Version. The question form is a device for drawing attention to the subject of the saying (see 22.29). Some versions restructure the line or the whole verse to give a more natural rendering; see Good News Translation, for example. Translators should aim to render the saying in a way that is natural in their language, whether this is a question or some other structure. “Wise in his own eyes” means “who thinks himself to be wise but is not.” Contemporary English Version calls this person “someone who says, ‘I’m really smart.'” See verse 5.

“There is more hope for a fool than for him”: The whole saying may be expressed, for example, “The fool is better off than the person who thinks he knows everything” or “It is easier to teach a fool than to teach a person who thinks he is wise but isn’t.” In languages where it is difficult to use a comparison structure like “more . . . than”, the saying may be restructured as, for example, “We may be able to help a fool to get understanding. But if a person thinks he knows everything, it is hard for us to help that person.”

Quoted with permission from Reyburn, William D. and Fry, Euan McG. A Handbook on Proverbs. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 2000. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .