Isaiah 32:5

Modern

No longer will a fool be called noble, nor a scoundrel be respected.

Traditional

The vile person shall be no more called liberal, nor the churl said to be bountiful.

Literal

A foolish one will no longer be called noble, and a scoundrel will not be said to be honorable;

Latin

Non vocabitur ultra is qui insipiens est, princeps, neque fraudulentus appellabitur major;

Hebrew

English

No longer will a fool be called noble, nor a scoundrel be respected.

Only foolish people value fools and scoundrels as heroes (see also Isaiah 19:11, 13; 32:6–8).

Theme notes and profiles

Isaiah 5:20
Woe to those who call evil good and good evil, who turn darkness to light and light to darkness, who replace bitter with sweet and sweet with bitter.
Malachi 3:18
So you will again distinguish between the righteous and the wicked, between those who serve God and those who do not.”
Psalm 15:4
…who despises the vile but honors those who fear the LORD, who does not revise a costly oath,
Proverbs 23:6–8
Do not eat the bread of a stingy man, and do not crave his delicacies;
1 Samuel 25:3–8
His name was Nabal, and his wife’s name was Abigail. She was an intelligent and beautiful woman, but her husband, a Calebite, was harsh and evil in his dealings.
1 Samuel 25:25
My lord should pay no attention to this scoundrel Nabal, for he lives up to his name: His name means Fool, and folly accompanies him. I, your servant, did not see my lord’s young men whom you sent.