Wisdom continues the diagnosis: 'They would not accept my counsel, they despised all my reproof.' The double negative—would not accept, despised—emphasizes the active rejection. 'Despised' (maasu) means to treat as worthless, to hold in contempt. Reproof (tokechah) offered in the context of wisdom's call is itself an expression of care; to despise it is to reject the possibility of being cared for and corrected toward life. This verse reinforces that the fool's destruction results from his own valuations—he has judged wisdom to be contemptible and correction to be intolerable. He has preferred the illusion of autonomy to the reality of accountability before God. The emphasis on the person's own choice and judgment underscores that judgment is not arbitrary imposition but the outcome of choices the person has made.

COMMUNITY REFLECTIONS

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