Someone who is prudent is wise, careful in his actions. He exercises good judgment and common sense. In this verse, a prudent man is someone who recognizes danger and acts accordingly.
What is danger?
Danger is anything that places us in peril. It may be a risk to our health, our finances, our marriages, our relationship with God, or anything else. Danger is not to be played with. Danger is to be avoided, and sometimes the only way to avoid it is to take refuge.
What is refuge?
Refuge is shelter, a place of safety. Take refuge means getting out of harm's way.
Who is simple?
Here, someone who is simple is contrasted to a prudent man. Thus, we can say a simpleton is unwise, careless in his actions. He exercises poor judgment and lacks common sense. This is not to say he is stupid. He recognizes danger, but instead of seeking refuge, he keeps going.
What does it mean to keep going?
Just what it says. Despite the warning signs of impending danger, the simple stay on the same course. Instead of getting out of harm's way, they just keep on keeping on. The path they refuse to leave leads ultimately to suffering.
What is suffering?
It is the consequence of ignoring danger. It may be health consequences, financial difficulty, divorce, spiritual bankruptcy, or any number of unfavorable outcomes, depending on what danger is ignored. In this context, suffering is the opposite of the safety offered by taking refuge.
A prudent mans sees danger and takes refuge, but the simple keep going and suffer for it.
We could put this verse in the context of a thousand what ifs and how abouts, trying to disprove the validity of what the writer is saying. Ultimately, that's going to get us exactly nowhere. We would be better served to simply take it for what it is: Good advice.
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