Proverbs 29:19
in Proverbs 29A servant cannot be corrected by words alone; though he understands, he will not respond.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
A servant will not be corrected by words; For though he understand, he will not give heed.
KJV
A servant will not be corrected by words: for though he understand he will not answer.
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This verse in Proverbs 29
Commentary
4 notes on this verseA commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
Servant - i. e., A slave, whose obedience is reluctant. He may “understand” the words, but they produce no good effect. There is still lacking the true “answer” of obedience.
This site's exposition
A servant cannot be corrected by words alone
on Proverbs 29:19-21
"A servant cannot be corrected by words alone; though he understands, he will not respond," so the resistance is willful. Verse 20 ranks reckless speech below plain foolishness, since a fool may yet be taught while a hasty tongue outruns correction. Verse 21 closes with a warning against indulgence.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers1 voice
In saying that "the servant will not be corrected by words," [Solomon] did not order him to be left to himself but implied an admonition as to the means whereby he ought to be corrected. Otherwise he would not have said, "He will not be corrected by words," but without any qualification, "He will not be corrected." For in another place he says that not only the servant but also the undisciplined son must be corrected with stripes, and that with great fruits as the result. For he says, "You shall beat him with the rod and shall deliver his soul from hell," and elsewhere he says, "He that spares the rod hates his own son."
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
A servant will not be corrected by words,....
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
On the verses either side of this one
Without vision the people become unrestrained When Israel causes prophecy to withdraw from them by mocking the prophets, they will become unrestrained and will degenerate.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| בִּ֭דְבָרִים | bidvarim | by words | H1697 → | 1440 times |
| לֹא־ | lo'- | not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| יִוָּ֣סֶר | yivaser | he will let himself be instructed | H3256 → | 43 times |
| עָ֑בֶד | ʾaved | a slave | H5650 → | 799 times |
| כִּֽי־ | ki- | for | H3588 → | 4482 times |
| יָ֝בִ֗ין | yavin | he will understand | H995 → | 170 times |
| וְאֵ֣ין | veein | and there not | H369 → | 789 times |
| מַעֲנֶֽה׃ | maaneh | [will be one who] answers | H6030 → | 331 times |
בִּ֭דְבָרִיםby words
bidvarimH1697 →1440 times
לֹא־not
lo'-H3808 →5168 times
יִוָּ֣סֶרhe will let himself be instructed
yivaserH3256 →43 times
עָ֑בֶדa slave
ʾavedH5650 →799 times
כִּֽי־for
ki-H3588 →4482 times
יָ֝בִ֗יןhe will understand
yavinH995 →170 times
וְאֵ֣יןand there not
veeinH369 →789 times
מַעֲנֶֽה׃[will be one who] answers
maanehH6030 →331 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 26:3A whip for the horse, a bridle for the donkey, and a rod for the backs of fools!
it leads to
- Proverbs 10:13
Wisdom is found on the lips of the discerning, but a rod is for the back of him who lacks judgment.
- Psalms 32:9
Do not be like the horse or mule, which have no understanding; they must be controlled with bit and bridle to make them come to you.
- 1 Corinthians 4:21
Which do you prefer? Shall I come to you with a rod, or in love and with a gentle spirit?
- Judges 8:5–7
So Gideon said to the men of Succoth, “Please give my troops some bread, for they are exhausted, and I am still pursuing Zebah and Zalmunna, the kings of Midian.”
- Proverbs 17:10
A rebuke cuts into a man of discernment deeper than a hundred lashes cut into a fool.
- Proverbs 10:13
Through
Proverbs 30:22a servant who becomes king, a fool who is filled with food,
it leads to
- Proverbs 19:10
Luxury is unseemly for a fool—how much worse for a slave to rule over princes!
- Ecclesiastes 10:7
I have seen slaves on horseback, while princes go on foot like slaves.
- Proverbs 19:10
Through
Job 19:16I call for my servant, but he does not answer, though I implore him with my own mouth.
it leads to
- Job 1:15–17
the Sabeans swooped down and took them away. They put the servants to the sword, and I alone have escaped to tell you!”
- Job 1:15–17
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); Augustine of Hippo, THE CORRECTION OF THE DONATISTS 6:21; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.