Wisdom's direct address becomes cutting: 'How long, you simple ones, will you love your simplicity? How long will mockers delight in mockery and fools hate knowledge?' The questions carry both exasperation and invitation—how long will you persist in these destructive dispositions? 'Simple ones' (petha'im) here refers not to the potentially redeemable young but to those who have hardened in their refusal. The 'mockers' (letsim) actively scorn wisdom, treating it as contemptible. The 'fools' (kesilim) have rejected knowledge itself. The progression from simplicity to mocking to active hatred of knowledge suggests a deepening hardening of heart. Wisdom's questions imply that there is still time, still opportunity for repentance—but the tone indicates increasing urgency. Her words function as both warning and appeal: the trajectory toward willful foolishness is real and dangerous, yet reversal remains possible for those who will heed.

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