Go from the presence of a foolish man, when thou perceivest not in him the lips of knowledge.
Go from the presence of a foolish man, when thou perceivest not (in him) the lips of knowledge. So Michaelis. Maurer, after L. DeDieu, translates, 'Go so as to stand opposite a foolish man, and you will not perceive (discover) in him the lips of knowledge' - i:e., any knowledge proceeding from his lips. But the Hebrew particle, min (H4480), "from," implies removal to a distance х mineged (H5048)] (Genesis 21:16; Psalms 31:22). Though the other sense is possible [ex enantias, ex adverso], (Numbers 2:2 margin) Avoid intimacy with the ungodly fool, lest thou become polluted thereby; also lest the weak be unsettled by thy example, and lest the wicked take occasion thence of slumbering in, their sins; and lastly, lest time be lost by it. 'The indication of piety and of impiety is most readily and surely sought from the use made of the tongue' (Matthew 12:37). The proverb says, 'Speak, that I may see what you are' (T. Cartwright)).