Proverbs 15:31
in Proverbs 15He who listens to life-giving reproof will dwell among the wise.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
The ear that hearkeneth to the reproof of life Shall abide among the wise.
KJV
The ear that heareth the reproof of life abideth among the wise.
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This verse in Proverbs 15
Commentary
5 notes on this verseThe ear that hears the corrections of life, etc. The disciple who obediently listens to the corrections of teachers often progresses to the very seat of honor. Finally, Paul, who humbly submitted to the correction of his Creator, subsequently reached the seat of apostolic dignity.
This site's exposition
The ear that heareth the reproof of life
on Proverbs 15:31-32
The ear that hears the reproof of life abides among the wise, correction treated as an entrance ticket rather than an insult. The man who refuses instruction despises his own soul, doing himself the injury he thinks he is avoiding, while the man who hears reproof gets understanding in direct exchange for the humility it cost him. Gill reads the pair as the chapter's own definition of wisdom, not the absence of correction but the willingness to receive it.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
The ear that heareth the reproof of life,....
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
The reproof of life - i. e., The reproof that leads to, or gives life, rather than that which comes from life and its experience.
The ear that heareth the reproof - That receives it gratefully and obeys it. “Advice is for them that will take it,” so says one of our own old proverbs; and the meaning here is nearly the same.
The words behind it
7 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| אֹ֗זֶן | ʾozen | an ear | H241 → | 187 times |
| שֹׁ֭מַעַת | shomaat | [which] hears | H8085 → | 1159 times |
| תּוֹכַ֣חַת | tokhachat | <of> correction of | H8433 → | 28 times |
| חַיִּ֑ים | chaiyim | life | H2416 → | 498 times |
| בְּקֶ֖רֶב | bekerev | in [the] midst of | H7130 → | 227 times |
| חֲכָמִ֣ים | chakhamim | wise [people] | H2450 → | 138 times |
| תָּלִֽין׃ | talin | it will remain | H3885 → |
אֹ֗זֶןan ear
ʾozenH241 →187 times
שֹׁ֭מַעַת[which] hears
shomaatH8085 →1159 times
תּוֹכַ֣חַת<of> correction of
tokhachatH8433 →28 times
חַיִּ֑יםlife
chaiyimH2416 →498 times
בְּקֶ֖רֶבin [the] midst of
bekerevH7130 →227 times
חֲכָמִ֣יםwise [people]
chakhamimH2450 →138 times
תָּלִֽין׃it will remain
talinH3885 →
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Proverbs 19:20Listen to counsel and accept discipline, that you may be wise the rest of your days.
it leads to
- Proverbs 12:15
The way of a fool is right in his own eyes, but a wise man listens to counsel.
- Proverbs 8:34–35
Blessed is the man who listens to me, watching daily at my doors, waiting at the posts of my doorway.
- Proverbs 2:1–9
My son, if you accept my words and hide my commandments within you,
- Proverbs 4:1
Listen, my sons, to a father’s instruction; pay attention and gain understanding.
- Proverbs 1:8
Listen, my son, to your father’s instruction, and do not forsake the teaching of your mother.
- Proverbs 12:15
Through
Proverbs 15:5A fool rejects his father’s discipline, but whoever heeds correction is prudent.
it leads to
- Proverbs 15:31–32
He who listens to life-giving reproof will dwell among the wise.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Proverbs 13:18
Poverty and shame come to him who ignores discipline, but whoever heeds correction is honored.
- Proverbs 15:31–32
Through
Proverbs 25:12Like an earring of gold or an ornament of fine gold is a wise man’s rebuke to a listening ear.
it leads to
- Psalms 141:5
Let the righteous man strike me; let his rebuke be an act of loving devotion. It is oil for my head; let me not refuse it. For my prayer is ever against the deeds…
- Psalms 141:5
Where this verse is studied
On this page
About Proverbs
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Bede, Commentary on Proverbs; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament and John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763).