be foolish
sa.khal describes acting in a way judged foolish and, in other clauses, making counsel or knowledge foolish.
Most occurrences assess a person's action as foolish, whether confessed after wrongdoing or charged as a failure in a particular matter. Two Piel clauses instead ask for or describe the making of counsel, people, or knowledge foolish.
Senses in use
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Acting foolishly in a judged action · dominant
The Niphal and Hiphil perfect forms occur where an action is assessed as foolish: in 1 Samuel 13:13, Saul has not kept the commandment, and in 2 Chronicles 16:9 the rebuke concerns "this matter" and its coming wars. In 1 Chronicles 21:8 and 2 Samuel 24:10, David's confession follows an action he calls sin and for which he seeks removal of guilt; in 1 Samuel 26:21 and Genesis 31:28, the APB likewise renders the clauses "I have acted foolishly" and "you have acted foolishly."
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Making counsel or knowledge foolish · occasional
In 2 Samuel 15:31, the Piel imperative is David's request that the LORD make Ahithophel's counsel foolish amid the conspiracy. In Isaiah 44:25, the Piel imperfect describes God frustrating diviners' signs, making soothsayers fools, and making their knowledge foolish.
In the Anselm Project Bible: The APB commonly presents the personal-action clauses as "acted foolishly," while 2 Samuel 15:31 has "make the counsel of Ahithophel foolish" and Isaiah 44:25 includes "make fools" and "make their knowledge foolish." These renderings reflect whole translated clauses rather than a word-for-word alignment.