The fool’s knowledge only serves for harm: it destroys the fool’s bright qualities and brings them to ruin.

Yāvadeva anatthāya ñattaṃ bālassa jāyati — the fool’s knowledge only arises for harm: disturbing paradox. The fool may have extensive knowledge, but without the foundation of virtue and discernment, that knowledge operates against its possessor.

Hanti bālassa sukkaṃsaṃ — destroys the fool’s bright side: sukkaṃsa is the luminous fraction, the meritorious part. Knowledge without moral basis can destroy what goodness there is in the fool: intellectual pride, cynicism, manipulation.

Muddhamassa vipātayaṃ — brings them to ruin: literally “makes their head fall.” Misused knowledge destroys its possessor.

This verse is a warning especially relevant in the information age. Having access to vast information is not equivalent to wisdom. The danger of the pseudo-expert who knows data without having developed discernment or ethics is one of the most contemporary themes of the current crisis.