Proverbs 15:12
in Proverbs 15A mocker does not love to be reproved, nor will he consult the wise.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
A scoffer loveth not to be reproved; He will not go unto the wise.
KJV
A scorner loveth not one that reproveth him: neither will he go unto the wise.
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This verse in Proverbs 15
Commentary
3 notes on this verseThis site's exposition
Discipline is harsh for him who leaves the path
on Proverbs 15:10-12
“Discipline is harsh for him who leaves the path,” and the one who hates correction is warned plainly that he “will die”. The mocker completes the group by refusing correction outright, for he “does not love to be reproved, nor will he consult the wise”.
This site's exposition
A mocker does not love to be reproved
The mocker closes the group on correction that opened at verse 10. He avoids the one place reproof would find him. The book met him at 9:8 and 13:1, where a rebuke earns his hatred and goes unheard.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
A scorner loveth not one that reproveth him,....
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
On the verses either side of this one
The grave and Destruction are opposite the Lord It is revealed to Him all that are therein.
This section is reception history: how the passage was read and kept in the Jewish tradition. Where a reading parts from an essential of the Christian faith, the section says so at that point.
Texts and citation data: Sefaria; each excerpt follows its version’s licence. 4 further sources are cited on this chapter that carry no English text this site may quote or only restate the verse.
The words behind it
9 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| לֹ֣א | lo' | not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| יֶאֱהַב־ | yeehav- | he loves | H157 → | 211 times |
| לֵ֭ץ | letz | a mocker | H3887 → | 28 times |
| הוֹכֵ֣חַֽ | hokheach | reproof | H3198 → | 59 times |
| ל֑וֹ | lo | to him | ||
| אֶל־ | ʾel- | to | H413 → | 5510 times |
| חֲ֝כָמִ֗ים | chakhamim | wise [people] | H2450 → | 138 times |
| לֹ֣א | lo' | not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| יֵלֵֽךְ׃ | yelekh | he goes | H1980 → | 1546 times |
לֹ֣אnot
lo'H3808 →5168 times
יֶאֱהַב־he loves
yeehav-H157 →211 times
לֵ֭ץa mocker
letzH3887 →28 times
הוֹכֵ֣חַֽreproof
hokheachH3198 →59 times
ל֑וֹto him
lo
אֶל־to
ʾel-H413 →5510 times
חֲ֝כָמִ֗יםwise [people]
chakhamimH2450 →138 times
לֹ֣אnot
lo'H3808 →5168 times
יֵלֵֽךְ׃he goes
yelekhH1980 →1546 times
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
2 Timothy 4:3For the time will come when men will not tolerate sound doctrine, but with itching ears they will gather around themselves teachers to suit their own desires.
it leads to
- 2 Peter 2:1–3
Now there were also false prophets among the people, just as there will be false teachers among you. They will secretly introduce destructive heresies, even denying the Master who bought them—bringing swift destruction on…
- Galatians 4:16
Have I now become your enemy by telling you the truth?
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- 2 Timothy 3:1–6
But understand this: In the last days terrible times will come.
- 1 Timothy 4:1–3
Now the Spirit expressly states that in later times some will abandon the faith to follow deceitful spirits and the teachings of demons,
- 1 Timothy 1:10
for the sexually immoral, for homosexuals, for slave traders and liars and perjurers, and for anyone else who is averse to sound teaching
- 2 Peter 2:1–3
Through
John 7:7The world cannot hate you, but it hates Me, because I testify that its works are evil.
it leads to
- John 15:18–19
If the world hates you, understand that it hated Me first.
- John 3:19
And this is the verdict: The Light has come into the world, but men loved the darkness rather than the Light because their deeds were evil.
- Proverbs 9:7–8
He who corrects a mocker brings shame on himself; he who rebukes a wicked man taints himself.
- John 15:18–19
Where this verse is studied
About Proverbs

This page draws on Charles Bridges, An Exposition of the Book of Proverbs; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament and John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763).
