Why are the people foolish, stupid children who are wise in doing evil?

The Hebrew word sabal, translated here as stupid, is used six times in the book of Ecclesiastes where it has the same meaning as fool (kesil).¹ In wisdom literature and the Psalms being a fool goes deeper than poor intellect or poor judgment; it expresses an attitude towards the Lord. The fool says in his heart, there is no God (Psalm 14:1). The Lord says that his people are foolish, they know me not, they are stupid (foolish) children. The fear of the Lord is the beginning of all wisdom, but the people of Judah have no understanding because they neither know nor fear the Lord. Instead, they are wise in doing evil, but how to do good they know not. The foolishness that has brought about the impending judgment runs so deep in the people of Judah that it leaves them unable to see the danger they face.² There is also a strong contrast between the deep anguish that Jeremiah feels in the face of the Lord’s judgment and the total indifference of the people. The prophet, seeming externally to be so stern, is torn internally with grief. The people, critical no doubt of this apparently harsh prophet, have lost their capacity for any inner feelings at all.³