Proverbs 19:25
in Proverbs 19Strike a mocker, and the simple will beware; rebuke the discerning man, and he will gain knowledge.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Smite a scoffer, and the simple will learn prudence; And reprove one that hath understanding, and he will understand knowledge.
KJV
Smite a scorner, and the simple will beware: and reprove one that hath understanding, and he will understand knowledge.
⋯
This verse in Proverbs 19
Commentary
5 notes on this verseIf you want to take Scripture as a witness that sinners are punished for the education of others, even if those unabashed may be beyond treatment, hear Solomon in the Proverbs who says, "When a pest is being whipped, the fool will be more astute." He did not say that he who is being whipped will be more astute and more sensible through the whips, but he said that the fool will change from foolishness into common sense through whips employed on the pest.
This site's exposition
The slacker buries his hand in the dish
on Proverbs 19:24-25
The slacker buries his hand in the dish and will not even bring it back to his mouth, a comic picture to make laziness visible. Strike a mocker and the simple will beware, while rebuking the discerning means "he will gain knowledge," the same correction landing differently on each hearer.
This site's exposition
Strike a mocker, and the simple will beware
Barnes finds nearly the whole theory of punishment here, a penalty for the hardened mocker as a warning to others, and discipline for the discerning. Origen of Alexandria cites the verse for sinners punished to teach others. Rebuke adds knowledge to the discerning.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
Smite a scorner, and the simple will beware,....
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
Words which embrace nearly the whole theory of punishment. If the man who offends is a “scorner,” hardened beyond all hope of reformation, then punish him by way of retribution and example, and let the penalty be sharp, that even the unwary and careless may beware. If the man be “understanding,” then let the punishment take the form of discipline. Admonish, reprove, educate.
The words behind it
8 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| לֵ֣ץ | letz | a mocker | H3887 → | 28 times |
| תַּ֭כֶּה | takeh | you will strike | H5221 → | 499 times |
| וּפֶ֣תִי | ufeti | and a naive person | H6612 → | 19 times |
| יַעְרִ֑ם | ya'rim | he will become prudent | H6191 → | |
| וְהוֹכִ֥יחַ | vehokhiach | and to reprove | H3198 → | 59 times |
| לְ֝נָב֗וֹן | lenavon | <to> a discerning [person] | H995 → | 170 times |
| יָבִ֥ין | yavin | he will understand | H995 → | 170 times |
| דָּֽעַת׃ | daat | knowledge | H1847 → | 92 times |
לֵ֣ץa mocker
letzH3887 →28 times
תַּ֭כֶּהyou will strike
takehH5221 →499 times
וּפֶ֣תִיand a naive person
ufetiH6612 →19 times
יַעְרִ֑םhe will become prudent
ya'rimH6191 →
וְהוֹכִ֥יחַand to reprove
vehokhiachH3198 →59 times
לְ֝נָב֗וֹן<to> a discerning [person]
lenavonH995 →170 times
יָבִ֥יןhe will understand
yavinH995 →170 times
דָּֽעַת׃knowledge
daatH1847 →92 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
Revelation 3:19Those I love, I rebuke and discipline. Therefore be earnest and repent.
it leads to
- Proverbs 3:11–12
My son, do not reject the discipline of the LORD, and do not loathe His rebuke;
- 1 Corinthians 11:32
But when we are judged by the Lord, we are being disciplined so that we will not be condemned with the world.
- Hebrews 12:5–11
And you have forgotten the exhortation that addresses you as sons: “My son, do not take lightly the discipline of the Lord, and do not lose heart when He rebukes you.
- Job 5:17
Blessed indeed is the man whom God corrects; so do not despise the discipline of the Almighty.
- Revelation 2:5
Therefore, keep in mind how far you have fallen. Repent and perform the deeds you did at first. But if you do not repent, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from…
- Proverbs 3:11–12
Through
Proverbs 15:5A fool rejects his father’s discipline, but whoever heeds correction is prudent.
it leads to
- Proverbs 13:1
A wise son heeds his father’s discipline, but a mocker does not listen to rebuke.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Proverbs 15:31–32
He who listens to life-giving reproof will dwell among the wise.
- Proverbs 13:1
Through
Proverbs 17:10A rebuke cuts into a man of discernment deeper than a hundred lashes cut into a fool.
it leads to
- Revelation 3:19
Those I love, I rebuke and discipline. Therefore be earnest and repent.
- Revelation 3:19
Where this verse is studied
On this page
About Proverbs
This page draws on Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Charles Bridges, An Exposition of the Book of Proverbs; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible and Origen of Alexandria, HOMILIES ON JEREMIAH 12:6.