Proverbs 21:11
in Proverbs 21When a mocker is punished, the simple gain wisdom; and when a wise man is instructed, he acquires knowledge.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
When the scoffer is punished, the simple is made wise; And when the wise is instructed, he receiveth knowledge.
KJV
When the scorner is punished, the simple is made wise: and when the wise is instructed, he receiveth knowledge.
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This verse in Proverbs 21
Commentary
3 notes on this verseThis site's exposition
When a mocker is punished
on Proverbs 21:11-13
When a mocker is punished, "the simple gain wisdom," public justice teaching by example a lesson the onlooker learns without paying the mocker's price. Whoever shuts his ears to the cry of the poor "shall cry out and receive no answer," the punishment fitted exactly to the failure.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
When the scorner is punished,....
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
When the scorner is punished - When those who mock at religion, blaspheme against its Author, and endeavor to poison society, and disturb the peace of the community by their false doctrine, meet with that degree of punishment which their crimes, as far as they affect the public peace, deserve; then the simple, who were either led away, or in danger of being led away, by their pernicious doctrines, are made wise.
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
When a scorner is punished, a fool gains wisdom Through the chastisements of scorners, fools gain wisdom and return [to God] in repentance.
1 more on this passage, in their own words ▾
The Righteous One considers The Righteous One of the world sets His heart to destroy the house of the wicked, e.g. the remembrance of Amalek.
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
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| בַּעְנָשׁ־ | ba'nosh- | when punish | H6064 → | 9 times |
| לֵ֭ץ | letz | a mocker | H3887 → | 28 times |
| יֶחְכַּם־ | yechkam- | he becomes wise | H2449 → | 27 times |
| פֶּ֑תִי | peti | a naive person | H6612 → | 19 times |
| וּבְהַשְׂכִּ֥יל | uvehaskil | and when instruct | H7919 → | 62 times |
| לְ֝חָכָ֗ם | lechakham | <to> a wise [person] | H2450 → | 138 times |
| יִקַּח־ | yikach- | he receives | H3947 → | 966 times |
| דָּֽעַת׃ | daat | knowledge | H1847 → | 92 times |
בַּעְנָשׁ־when punish
ba'nosh-H6064 →9 times
לֵ֭ץa mocker
letzH3887 →28 times
יֶחְכַּם־he becomes wise
yechkam-H2449 →27 times
פֶּ֑תִיa naive person
petiH6612 →19 times
וּבְהַשְׂכִּ֥ילand when instruct
uvehaskilH7919 →62 times
לְ֝חָכָ֗ם<to> a wise [person]
lechakhamH2450 →138 times
יִקַּח־he receives
yikach-H3947 →966 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
Proverbs 9:9Instruct a wise man, and he will be wiser still; teach a righteous man, and he will increase his learning.
it leads to
- Proverbs 1:5
let the wise listen and gain instruction, and the discerning acquire wise counsel
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Matthew 13:11–12
He replied, “The knowledge of the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven has been given to you, but not to them.
- 1 John 5:13
I have written these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, so that you may know that you have eternal life.
- Proverbs 25:12
Like an earring of gold or an ornament of fine gold is a wise man’s rebuke to a listening ear.
- Proverbs 1:5
Through
Proverbs 18:15The heart of the discerning acquires knowledge, and the ear of the wise seeks it out.
it leads to
- James 1:5
Now if any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him.
- Proverbs 15:14
A discerning heart seeks knowledge, but the mouth of a fool feeds on folly.
- Proverbs 9:9
Instruct a wise man, and he will be wiser still; teach a righteous man, and he will increase his learning.
- Luke 10:39
She had a sister named Mary, who sat at the Lord’s feet listening to His message.
- James 1:5
Where this verse is studied
On this page
About Proverbs
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.